Me, Myself and Meggie
by GeoHenley101
Summary: There once was a girl, who lives in a basement. Her name is Meggie. Not Maggie. She lives with her Aunt and Mother. Read through her story as something changes her life...


Me, Myself and Meggie

A novel by

GeoHenley101

**Chapter 1- me, myself and Meggie**

My name is Meggie White. I'm thirteen years old and I've never left my Auntie Sarah's basement. _This_ is my story.

I have never seen the outside world. You know, the sun, the rain, the streets, anything really. I haven't seen animals, apart from my cat, Jessie. I've only seen cars in books, and I've certainly never ridden in one. I read books a lot, though Mum doesn't let me read certain ones. I have a few little kids ones, ones about talking bunny rabbits and magical fairies. Those are the ones Mum likes me to read. She doesn't want me to know a thing about outside. She likes me trapped in a fantasy world, surrounded by beautiful mermaids and pirates in puffy pants. It's plain stupid.

For a while I was satisfied with these books, but when I turned twelve, I wanted more. I ventured out of the basement, at night, and went upstairs into my Aunt's room. I took one of her novels, one about a woman with a deadly disease who had to have an operation that could kill her, just to stay alive for a bit longer. I read bits of it every night by torchlight. It was sad, and scary. A lot different from my cheerful fantasies where everyone lives happily ever after in the end. In the novel, the woman survived the operation, but died three months later anyway. It wasn't a very nice book, but it taught me a lot. I learnt about life and death, about leisure and labour. I learnt about some amazing inventions that are out there- airplanes, cars, cellphones, computers, trains, _everything_! I read more and more of Aunt's books and learnt about sports and schools, and music and theatre. It was all OK, y'know, for a while. But one day, Aunt noticed a book missing from her shelf. She steamed down into the basement, smoke practically coming from her ears.

"Meggie White, you get here right now little lady!" she screamed, "You are in serious trouble!"

"What has she done now, Sarah?" asked Mum sleepily, stirring from her afternoon nap.

"She's been stealing my books, she has!" said Auntie Sarah heatedly.

"I haven't, I haven't!" I denied.

But Auntie Sarah lifted up my mattress, which was the place I'd been hiding the books I borrowed.

"Oh yes you have!" bellowed Auntie Sarah, waving several chunky novels in my face.

"There are tons of them!" said Mum, who had come over to inspect. "How dare you steal from your Aunt? How dare you leave this basement?"

"I'm sorry, I just…I wanted-" I stammered helplessly.

"Stupid child!" Mum suddenly shrieked, "You've put us all in danger! Why can't you just listen to me?!"

"I said I'm sorry!" I whimpered. I mean, what else could I say?

"Apologize to your Aunt!" Mum hissed.

"I have!" I said.

"Idiot girl! Apologize now!" Mum screamed.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I said quickly. Unfortunately, Mum didn't think this counted as a good apology. She glared at me, and opened her mouth to criticize again.

"I'm sorry Auntie Sarah for taking your books." I said quickly.

"That's all right," said Aunt Sarah, looking down her nose at me. I quivered beneath her gaze.

"Just don't go doing it again." She said unhappily.

"I will make sure she doesn't." said Mum darkly.

"I'm going to bring down some roast pork soon, it's nearly dinner time." Said Aunt Sarah firmly, "Meggie, no dinner for you, you are in disgrace. I shall bring some cat food for that cat of yours. Hmmm….You knows what? Next time you misbehave, that cat is out on the streets. I can't believe I'm even allowing you to keep this filthy thing in the house. Just watch it, okay, Meggie? These next couple of weeks, you're walking on thin ice. If you even sneeze without me or your mothers consent, that cat is _lunchmeat_."

I shivered, holding Jessie tightly.

"Well…" said Aunt Sarah, wavering under my forlorn figure, "Actually, that was just a figure of speech. I may not have the heart to kill a cat, but that _thing_ will be out on the streets."

Then Aunt Sarah went away with all the books, leaving me and Mum alone.

"I can't believe you went upstairs." Growled Mum, "You know why we can't leave this basement! _You know_! I can't keep telling you again and again!"

"But you haven't told me!" I cried; for it was the thing I wanted to know most in the world, but seemed so hopelessly out of reach.

"I _have_, you have just forgotten." Said Mum.

"No you haven't told me anything, I swear!" I said.

"Don't you go swearing in front of me!" yelled Mum.

"I didn't!" I said desperately.

"Mandy! Be quiet!" she said angrily, "Stop being rude!"

"I'm Meggie, Mum!" I cried, and I waved my hand twice in front of her eyes. "Not Mandy!"

Mum turned around and faced the wall.

"Oh, of course, yes, Sarah, that is a brilliant idea!" Mum said calmly, addressing the wall, "Would you bring me and Frank a spot of tea? That would be great, thank you!"

She turned back to me, frowning.

"Margaret, get back to that washing!" she snapped, "There is plenty to be done! I did not say you could have a break!"

Then she turned on her heel and sat down on her bed. She sat for a while, muttering to herself and doing exaggerated hand gestures. I sat down on my bed, a little nervous. Auntie Sarah came in a little later with a jug of water.

"Oh no, not again!" she sighed, "Meggie, you've worked her into a state again!"

She walked over to Mum, talking to her calmly and giving her a glass of water. Then she settled Mum down in bed, tucked her in like a child and turned off the light.

"Meggie," said Auntie Sarah through the dark, "Go to sleep now, I know it's very early but your mother needs her rest. Don't go waking her or upsetting her. Goodnight child."

I heard the door shut and I was plunged into darkness.

I can't _believe _I forgot to mention this.

My Mum is insane.

**Chapter 2- Mum's Madness**

OK, so you know a bit about me now. My father, Frank, died a month before I was born. I don't know how, Mum won't say. I think it should upset me that he is dead, but I don't mind. Truly. S'not like I ever met him or anything. So there's nothing really to miss, right? Besides, I have my Auntie Sarah, and my mum Sally, though they're all. They are my only relatives. I was born in Auntie's basement, or so mum says, and though at the time, my Mum did have a house, she never left the basement. She sold her house, and hasn't seen daylight since. I don't know why.

I wish I did. But, unlike fairytales, wishes don't come true.

The basement isn't very nice; it's cold, like a garage, with a hard concrete floor covered by a small, skimpy grey rug. My bed is just a lumpy mattress on the floor. Instead of a duvet like Mum, I have a blanket, one that I made myself. Things can get boring in the basement, so I make a lot of things; most clothes I own I made myself. My blanket is green and purple striped, it's got quite a few holes in it and is not very warm at all. Mum has a mattress too, but a newer one, a nicer one. Her duvet is pink with swirls on it, very fancy and nice. There is a heater near Mum's bed, always set on high and making Mum extra toasty. I complained once about her having all the heat, but Aunt Sarah just called me spoilt. There is a makeshift toilet in the corner of the room, which is basically just a bowl which Aunt Sarah cleans out every day. It's gross and smelly, but it's better than nothing. And it doesn't seem so bad to me. I never realized that there were better 'toliet'sThere are three small baskets in the basement, one near my bed, for my clothes, one near Mums, for her clothes, and one by the door for clothes that need to be washed. I used to get home-schooled by Mum, but then…well, to be plain, she went nuts. Aunt Sarah taught me for a while but then she got promoted at work and was no longer home in the daytime. I know a bit of maths, and I'm quite good at reading. I'm can write, and Auntie Sarah taught me a teensy bit of science. But that's pretty much it. Just before Mum lost it, she got me a new school schedule, saying all the new subjects I would be learning. She was going to teach science, history, art, drama as well as my usual maths and English. But I dunno, she started to get really stressed, and lost her mind. Auntie Sarah said she'd been inside for too long, without any means of company. _Actually_, I wanted to correct her, _I have been with her! Duh. I am company._

But it seemed that Auntie was right. Mum is quite insane now, she's usually fine for a little bit, but then if she gets worked up too much…well, you know. So this is my life. I am not a normal girl. That's the way it's always gonna be.

**Hey there diary!**

**Don't let the exclamation mark fool you. **

**All is NOT well.**

**Things are going pretty strange here.**

**Listen:**

**Auntie Sarah not home from work yet, though usually is by now.**

**Mum is asleep. (no surprises there!)**

**Not much light. (powers gone out?)**

**Hungry. Wondering what's up with Auntie Sarah.**

**Bad traffic?**

**How would I know, I've never even seen traffic.**

**Oh well, I dunno. Got to go.**

**Um…..**

**Write back later.**

**XxxMegsxxx**

Mum woke up a few hours ago. She is practically tearing out her hair and biting her lip raw. I don't really see the big deal. Sure, Aunt Sarah is a bit late, but that could be due to anything. I mean, honestly, what could happen?! I write a bit more in my diary. It's this little purple book I got a few months ago. I don't often describe anything in any detail at all, just in tiny bullet points and stuff like that. I'm not a very good writer, but I can read quite well. Mum is looking at me angrily now, turning on me. Oh-oh. This generally means trouble.

"Debbie!" she shouts.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Stupid girl, I asked you to hang out the washing!" Mum shrieks.

"Mum, it's me, _Meggie_! Remember me?" I say calmly, though I feel my hands clamming up. I never quite know how to act around mum; she makes me feel awkward, and young.

"Now _really, _Miss Deborah. I would've expected better behavior from you!" says Mum sternly.

"Mum, just sit down for a moment, just calm down and we'll wait for a minute until Auntie Sarah comes." I say, slowly.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mum gabbles, smiling around, happily.

I feel tears pricking up in my eyes. Why me? Why am I the one who has to have the insane mother, the scary Aunt and the limited life? There was a time where Mum was fun. She tried to make the best of our basement environment. She would peel bits of the old wallpaper off the wall, unbeknown to Aunt Sarah, and she used to draw me wonderful pictures of castles, and ponies, and princesses. Then she would braid my hair and rock me to sleep. I lie mum down now, and tuck her in. I turn off the light.

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**It's morning now.**_

_**Aunt still not home.**_

_**Seriously getting worried.**_

_**Mum's still asleep. **_

_**Trying not to wake her.**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

**Chapter 3- The Death of Auntie Sarah**

I wake up Mum. She goes upstairs, just to see if Auntie Sarah is home yet.

She isn't.

That's confirmed it. Auntie Sarah is gone. It's been nearly two days now.

"Mum, call the police about Auntie! She's missing!" I beg Mum.

"No way." Says Mum, "There is no way I'm dragging the police into this. They always stick their noses in other peoples businesses. No way, Natalia."

"Meggie, mum." I sigh. I sit down and stroke Jessie, worrying terribly. I mean, I was not always that nice to Auntie Sarah, but I never wanted her dead or anything!

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**No she's not and she just can't be.**_

_**Sorry. That can't of made any sense.**_

_**I'm just so angry. And irritated.**_

_**And scared…..**_

_**Auntie Sarah can't be**__**dead.**_

_**Not Auntie Sarah.**_

_**But I dunno, anymore to be honest.**_

_**I went upstairs, out of the basement. **_

_**It was scary, and bright. There were all these letters and newspapers scattering the hall's carpeted floor. They had been getting pushed through the mail slot for the past few days. I picked up a newspaper and saw a picture of a young woman on the front. It was Auntie's passport photo from many years back. **_

_**Here- I'll write what it says:**_

"_**43 Year Old Shot and Drowned!**_

_**The body of Sarah White, 43, has been found in the Charleston River, just west from the building in which Sarah worked. After a tip off from one of Sarah's fellow employee's at her building, the police had started a full scale body hunt. After mere hours, Sarah White's body was found. It seemed surprisingly unharmed, well, besides from the two bullet shots that pierced her thigh and chest. Police are searching for the murderer at this very moment. Sarah was not married, and it seems all her few relatives are dead, apart from her sister Sally. Her whereabouts are unknown. If anyone is in any contact with them, the police are urging you to tell them about the death of Sarah, and to bring them forward for questioning.**_

_**Charlotte McMahan**_

_**The Daily Star"**_

_**God I feel stupid. Of course Auntie Sarah is dead.**_

_**I just didn't want to let myself believe it.**_

_**Wait- just realized, I'm not mentioned. **_

_**Weird. **_

_**Feel sick.**_

_**Need to sit down.**_

_**Head spinning….**_

_**Eugh….**_

_**Yuck.**_

_**Just been sick everywhere.**_

_**Yuck.**_

_**Cleaning it up before mum wakes.**_

_**Got to go.**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

I wake up in darkness. I get up and look at mum's empty bed. I turn on the light.

"Mum?" I ask.

Mum is sitting on the floor, balled up and rocking slightly, back and forth.

"Sarah…Sarah…Sarah…." Mum is saying, over and over again.

"Mum, what is it, what's wrong?" I ask, quickly.

"Sarah…Sarah…Sarah…Sarah…" Mum says, her eyes staring through me.

"Mum it's OK, everything is all-" I stop, my heart missing a beat. In Mum's hand is my diary. It's open on the page of the news article. Rats.

"Mum, it's not true; it's lies, that newspaper!" I lie desperately, "I made it up, it's all false, don't worry!"

I quickly snatch up my diary, and stuff it in my jacket pocket. It doesn't really fit, but hey. Mum ignores me and my stuttered comments. Or she doesn't hear me. I don't really know.

Suddenly she looks straight at me.

"Sarah is dead, they're coming for you next." She says quickly, "_Run child, run_! Get out of here, flee! Your life depends on it. You have to get out of here now!"

"Mum?" I say, scared, "Mum, are you OK?"

"My darling, where have I been these past years?" Mum asks lightly, yet sadly.

"You've been…you've been…well not well." I say nervously.

"I'm sorry darling, I'm so sorry…" Mum sobs.

"Mum please, mum stop it! You're OK…" I say extremely scared now. Is this just Mum being insane, or is she normal again? What should I do?

My stomach grumbles. I forgot- I haven't eaten in days. Mum stares at me. But the moment is over, and she stops looking and balls up again, rocking slowly.

"Mum, what do you want me to do?" I ask desperately.

"Sarah…Sarah…Sarah…" Mum whispers absently. Then I remember.

_Run child, run!_

I run upstairs. I haven't seen much of Auntie's house. I stumble around for the hall and the front door. I see Aunt Sarah's bedroom. In it is a safe. It's one of those big, metal, automated beasts. I remember Auntie telling mum it had money stashed inside it. _Money_. Ding ding ding! It's like a light bulb appears above my head. If I need to run, I need money. I turn to the safe, and stare at it.

"Open!" I say.

It stays locked.

"Abra Cadabra!" I say.

It doesn't move.

I see a small screen, underneath it is a big bunch of letters. _The alphabet!_ I must need to crack a code. I think.

I type in S-A-L-L-Y, but it doesn't work.

I type in S-A-R-A-H, and this time a warning beep sounds.

It still doesn't work. I type in the name of Auntie Sarah's work. I type in the street we live in. I type in the author of her favorite books. Nothing works. I hear Mum shuffling about down in the basement. She is muttering to herself. I sit down and think for a minute. I've got it! I type in I-N-S-A-N-I-T-Y, absolutely sure it will work. And then…It doesn't. I am out of ideas. Rats. Wait. Ding ding ding! Another great idea. I type in M-E-G-G-I-E and… Bleep!

_Access Approved!_ Chants a robotic voice. The safe slowly swings open. I feel so sad that I hardly look inside. Auntie Sarah had me as her access code, _me!_ She did love me. I feel really bad. I was hard on her. I hated her. My eye glances into the safe the second I get over my grief.

"Hullo there!" I gasp. The safe is stuffed with bundles of $100 dollar notes. There are forty bundles that I count. I count in my head for a minute. I think that is $4000 dollars. That's a fair amount of money, right? Whoa. I count again, barely believing my eyes. I look in Auntie's cupboard for a bag to hold the money. I do a double-take. There is _another_ safe in there, sitting behind a ton of coats and fur. I push aside the huge pile of Auntie's lurid clothes and take a closer look at the safe. It is massive, nearly twice the size of the other one. I type in the code M-E-G-G-I-E again, but it doesn't work. I type in S-A-R-A-H, and then S-A-L-L-Y. When I try the name J-E-S-S-I-E it works. I open the safe immediately, preparing myself for the huge piles of gold I knew would be there. I just about cry. Inside is a dusty old silver goblet, nothing important. It is small, and has a few dents in it. I pick it up and see the cheap _Made in China_ sticker on it's base. Oh well. What did I expect? $4000 dollars is _certainly_ enough. Then I notice a small rip in the carpet underneath the safe. I look at it, scheming. _Surely not!_ I start to push the safe aside. It's heavy, and I find myself sweating. When I've pushed the safe completely out of the wardrobe, I stare. There is a gaping hole in the carpet, in which you can see the floorboards underneath. And in the middle of the hole, there is a handle. A small metal handle. _A trap door!_

**Chapter 4- Sarah and Sally's Secret Stash**

I open the trapdoor, and see a small rope ladder. I climb down the ladder, stumbling a bit. It seems I am in some sort of underground chamber. From the small square of light coming from the open trapdoor, I see a table. Just a small one, like a bedside table. On it is a torch. I pick up the torch, turn it on, and watch the narrow beams of light shine through the room. _Whoa_. The room is piled to the roof in giant stacks of money! I stare for a second. Then I climb back out through the trapdoor, and grab a big, green suitcase out of the wardrobe. With incredible difficulty, I lug the suitcase down the rope ladder and into the chamber. Then I grab great fistfuls of money and stuff them in the bag. I do this for about fifteen minutes, and the suitcase is quickly filled. Yet the chamber is still ¾ full.

_Rats._

I pull the suitcase back out, and grab a small back pack. I fill that one, too, with as much money as I can. There is still a lot of money left in the chamber. Maybe I can get another suitcase? But Mum's words echo in my head. _Run, child, run….They're coming for you next….Your life depends on it… _So I stuff my pockets full of cash, close the trapdoor, and push the safe over it again. I grab the suitcase, swing the backpack over my shoulder, and head outside for the first time in my life. As I turn to open the front door, I look back.

I look at the stairs leading down to the basement in which I had been trapped, I look at Auntie Sarah's room, and I look up and down the hall.

_Goodbye house._

I know I should feel some sort of sadness, but I don't. This is new and exciting. Little old me out in the big, new world. It's an adventure, like in my books. From now on- _and this is a_ _promise_- things are going to be great for me! I place my hand on the doorknob, ready for my new life when…

BANG!

I leap away from the door, and scuttle into the nearest room. I am in Auntie Sarah's room, with the suitcase and backpack. Just as I had tried to open the door, it had been knocked down. I had been quite quick, and I don't think the intruder saw me. I hear voices.

"Yeah, so we're clearing out all this old lady's junk?" a man's voice asked.

"Mmm, though actually she's quite good looking." Another voice laughs, "43 wasn't it? Man, she was looked fine!"

They both laugh again, and I cringe. _How dare they talk about my aunt that way!_ I hear them walk down the hall, looking around.

"Quite tidy." One man comments. Another voice, one I haven't heard before, says something. I don't quite hear it. It suddenly clicks to me what they are. _Robbers._

"You have the bags?" asks another unfamiliar voice, a woman's one.

"Yeah, Now let's clear up all this junk, and take it back to the station." says yet another stranger.

I guess there are about eight or nine intruders, six males, and two or three woman.

"OK, spread out!" says one of the women, "Lets clean out this house. Nickleson and Smith, you take the bathrooms, Brown, you can take the basement, Patterson, you can do the bedroom's with me, and Michaels, McGregor, and Hayes can just help when necessary. Becksworth- you can make us all a coffee. I don't honestly know why we need so many people. Most of you are useless! Now get to it!"

I suddenly realize that I am standing in the _middle_ of Auntie Sarah's bedroom. Patterson and the woman will be in here any second. I grab the backpack, and the suitcase and stick my head out the door. The hall is almost empty, apart from one woman who is looking unsure where to go. This is my best chance of escaping. I rush out into the hall when the woman's back is turned. But the suitcase is heavy and makes a clanking noise on the tiles near the door. The woman whips around, her mouth open wide. She is blonde, with red lipstick and green eyes. She is wearing strange clothes for a robber- long navy pants and a white blouse with a badge on it.

"Oi, you!" she shouts.

She runs towards me, and I try to run. But the wheel of the suitcase is caught on a rug, and I can't move. She grabs me by the arm, and stares me right in the eye. She is up close now, and I can see the writing on her badge. _Police Force._ It says.

Oh!

She must be here to catch the robbers.

"The robbers are through there- they're splitting up and trying to clear out the house!" I say, trying to be helpful.

"Oi! Everyone!" she shouts, ignoring me, "We've got a kid here who thinks she's funny!" Nine police officers come out of the four corners of the house. Some glare at me as they rush forward, while others look at me questioningly.

"Why are you here?" asks the blonde woman, sounding more confident now that her colleagues surrounded her. _Whoops. _There are no robbers. Only police officers.

"I live here." I say nervously. A few of the men laugh.

"This is the house of Sarah White." Says the blonde woman, her face looking angry. "I do hope you know this is breaking and entering. It's a serious criminal offence! If you tell us what you've done, now, then we might les you off easy."

"I…I…I seriously _do_ live here!" I stutter, scared, "I've lived here all my life!"

"We are not here to be fooled around with, girl!" shouts an officer from the back of the group.

"No, wait.." says the other woman officer. She is very short and skinny, and incredibly young looking with neat black hair. "Didn't they say Sarah has a sister? Sally or something?"

"She looks a bit young to be a 43 year old's sister." Frowns a man.

"No, I can definitely see a resemblance." Says the short woman.

"Yeah!" says another man, "But surely not. Maybe Sarah had a daughter? One that she hushed up."

"Um!" I gasp, looking around at all the officers. I have never seen so many people before! The only other person I ever saw apart from Mum and Auntie Sarah, was Uncle Steve, Auntie Sarah's husband, who died when I was six. These people are totally different. Some are fat, some are thin. One looks Asian while another looks Russian. I am quite overwhelmed.

"No! I'm Sarah's sister! That's right!" I say quickly, "I'm Sally!"

"Where are you going?" asks the short woman, "You know you're wanted for questioning, don't you? And it seems a little bit suspicious that you're packing your bags to leave!"

"Oh!" I stammer, "I-I I was just…um…picking up some things of Sarah's… Um… things I didn't want thrown away…. Family heirlooms and such…"

"You are wanted for questioning…" says the short woman, thinking, "And I really should bring you into custody….But you seem so young. Off you go, go home. But you better get your butt down to the police station at some point, though look at you! You look like you're barely out of diapers!"

Her cronies laugh.

"I'm thirteen you know!" I growl.

"Oi! Watch that attitude! Now get outta here! The _adults_ have business to do."

And with that she shunts me out the doorway, and into the big, wide, world.

**Chapter 5– The Big, Wide, World**

I stumble down the driveway, my eyes squinting. It's so bright! I trip over my own feet. The cold, hard concrete welcomes me with a grin. I get back up, blood trickling down my knees.

"So where d'you go?" says a voice.

I quickly turn around, clutching my backpack and guarding my suitcase. In front of me is a girl, who looks about my age. She is extremely skinny and wearing ragged clothes, plus her hair is a mess, but she's grinning.

"Um…" I answer.

"'Cos it looks like you had a nice _trip_!" she says, grinning more broadly, "So where d'you go? I'd like to go there myself!"

I chuckle half-heartedly. The joke isn't exactly very funny.

"What are you wearing?" the girl asks, staring in mock disgust at my clothes. "They're, like, knitted! Yuck!"

"Well," I say, in what I hope is an indignant voice, "You're not exactly an oil painting yourself!" The grin whips off her face. She scowls at me, and I scowl back.

"So where are you going?" she asks, still frowning.

"I dunno." I say, suddenly slumping my shoulders in exhaust, "I don't really know anywhere good to go…"

"You running away?" the girl asks, as her expression softens slightly.

"I guess so…" I shrug. "Where are you going?"

"Well…" says the girl, and this time it's her turn to shrug. "No where really. I guess I'm running away too. I'm an orphan, you see? But the orphanage I live at is really crummy. So I'm leaving. My names Nina, by the way, what's yours?"

"My names Meggie." I say, offering my hand to shake. They did this in a book I read, I can't remember what book though. Nina stares at it, and shakes it.

"You must be really posh." Nina smiles sadly, "I mean, only posh kids shake hands! Normal kids just wave, or do nothing."

I groan unhappily.

"I'm not posh!" I sigh, "I just haven't quite mastered all this yet. So shaking hands mean you're posh, and waving means you're not. Got it. OK…"

She stares at me.

"So you wanna… er…. What's the phrase? Rats…. Oh yeah! You wanna hang out?" I ask, "I mean, we've both nowhere to go."

"May as well…" she says, cheering up, but still giving me strange looks. "But we'd better find a place for shelter, as we've no home for tonight."

"Hmmm…" I say, thinking hard. "I've got money!"

"Yeah!" Nina smiled, "Me too! Maybe we can stay in a motel?"

She pulls a five dollar note out of her pocket.

"Maybe this isn't enough…" she sighs.

"I don't know…" I say slowly, "But I think I have a bit more money than you."

Then I lean over and open the suitcase.

Nina's mouth opens in unison with the lid.

"Oh my gosh!" she shrieks, making a woman walking her dog jump and cross to the other side of the road.

"Not enough?" I say sadly, "Sorry…"

"Not enough?" she shrieks hysterically, "There must be millions in here! What did you rob a bank or something?"

I ignore the last comment, and she leans over and starts counting. After a few minutes, she sighs.

"I can't count here!" she says, "I need a place to set out all this money."

"Follow me!" I say, spying a fancy section with a little kids plastic playhouse in the grass. We jump over somebody's fence and into their private garden. In the garden is the little playhouse, which I run into. Nina follows, slightly behind because of the bulky suitcase. There is a tiny plastic table with three tiny plastic chairs. Nina begins to set all the money out in piles of $5,000. I sit, fiddling for a few moments. After about an hour, Nina whispers to me.

"There's almost half a million dollars here!" she murmurs softly. It is getting dark outside.

"Oh!" I say, "I've got more in this backpack, and in my pockets!"

I empty my pockets, and then out with a thud falls a battered purple book.

"Ohhh! What's this? Let's see!" Nina yelps, and snatches it up, quickly.

"It's my diary!" I say, "It's private!"

She gives it back, looking slightly crestfallen.

"Sorry," she says. "I thought it was more money."

I place my diary carefully back in my pocket, and dump the contents of my backpack on the tables. Nina's eyes pop.

She continues to count money, while I pick up the pen that's joined to my diary and begin to write.

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Ran away from Mum. Met police. Found **__**heaps**__** of money. Met new nice girl called Nina. **_

_**She's counting money.**_

_**Got over half a million dollars.**_

_**I hope that's a lot.**_

_**Found out I have bad fashion sense.**_

_**Wanted for questioning.**_

_**What're they gonna do if they find the real Sally? **_

_**Just thought of that.**_

_**Rats.**_

_**They're gonna think I was a burglar or something.**_

_**Rats.**_

_**Doesn't matter- new life here I come!**_

_**Sorry for not writing for a while! **_

_**Watch out world, Meggie's finally here!**_

_**xxxMegsxxx**_

_Ahem._

I look up. An astonished old face is glaring down at me.

"Who are you?" It shrieks, "This is my daughters playhouse! Get out! Get out! This is breaking and entering!"

Then she gasps. She has noticed the money.

"Robbers!" she shouts, "Bandits! Thieves! Burglars! Lock up your diamonds everyone!"

Nina yelps, and quickly throws all the money back in the suitcase. I help her, glancing at the woman.

"Johnny!" she yells over her shoulder, "Help! Thieves!"

"We didn't steal any of your money!" Nina cries, "I swear!"

A man comes rushing across the lawn.

"What's all the racket about, Joanne?" he yells, "What will the neighbors think?"

Though it's rather clear what the neighbors think. A few of them are poking their heads over the fence to get a better view. They're all staring at each other and whispering.

"What's wrong?" Johnny says, sternly. He stares at Joanne with his hands on his hips.

"Burglars!" Joanne shrieks, "Honey! I swear, they're in there! They've got ton's of money!"

A second later, a head appears through the plastic doorway of the playhouse.

"Good grief! Joanne! Get inside!" Johnny yells, as his wife scuttles indoors, but then he leans in closer. "Girls, now I'm willing to make a deal with you." He whispers, "We need money. We may be filthy, stinking rich, but I made a bet that went wrong, and now I owe someone two and a half million dollars. If you give me some of that, then I'll rush you out of here, and make up some lie. Deal?"

"I guess we don't have much choice…" Nina sighs, and whispers, "Deal."

The man sticks out his hand, and Nina sticks some money in it. He counts it for a second.

"What's taking so long?" Joanne calls nervously, "Are you OK? Are they attacking you?"

He ducks his head out, and stares at his wife.

"There's absolutely no one in there!" he shouts, "What are you on about woman!?"

"What?" she cries, "But I swear… there were two children… with millions of dollars… burglars or something!"

"Of course there were, honey. Whatever you say." Johnny says soothingly. He bustles her inside and waves the neighbors away.

"Shows over!" He shouts, "Nothing to see here!"

And all the neighbors go back inside their homes, grumbling. He starts to walk back into the house, but gives us a miniscule, sneaky wink.

**Chapter 6- The Five Star Hotels**

That night, Nina and I fell asleep in the playhouse, on soft beds of money. We wake up really early, with stiff backs, and exhausted minds.

"I am _never_ sleeping in a playhouse _ever_ again!" Nina yawns, stretching.

"Yeah!" I agree, "Tonight we sleep somewhere luxurious!"

"Yeah! Luxurious!" Nina echoes, "Like a five star hotel!"

She starts to chortle.

"Why's that funny?" I ask, zipping up the suitcase.

"Because only incredibly rich people can afford to stay in them!" Nina exclaims.

"Well," I say, smiling, "Aren't we now incredibly rich people?"

Nina laughs, and picks up the backpack.

"Let's get out of this dump!" she chuckles, and holds open the tiny plastic door for me.

We walk down paved streets for a while. Then suddenly Nina throws her arms in the air in irritation.

"Why are we walking?" she yells.

"Because we need to find a hotel!" I say slowly.

"Yeah," she says, as though talking to an idiot. "But we're rich now, aren't we? Rich people don't walk!"

And without further ado, she walks up to someone's house and raps on the door.

"Hello?"

It's an old lady. She steps out of her house and onto the front doorstep and smiles at us.

"Um…" Nina says, whimpering, "_So _sorry to bother you, but Mum's car broke down and she can't pick me up from my soccer practice down the road. Can I borrow your phone to call a taxi?"

The old lady nods, smiling, and hobbles in.

"Do you play at Gregory Park?" the old lady intrudes, gesturing us in.

"Er… yeah, sure." Nina says.

"Oh!" the old lady gasps, "I didn't know they had a soccer pitch there. Where is all your soccer gear?"

"It's in a bag… outside… on the pavement." Nina answers slowly.

"Oh!" the old lady gasps again, "Do you want me to bring it in? It'll get stolen otherwise."

"No!" Nina sighs, rather rudely, "I just want to make a phone call."

The old lady stares at her angrily, and Nina puts on a simpering voice again.

"I'm sorry…" Nina says, "It's just I'm in a hurry. I've got a funeral to go to. You see…" I see Nina desperately thinking of who's precious funeral it is, and she finally says, "… my daddy's dead…"

And she bursts into a stream of fake tears.

"Oh, you poor darling! The phone's just down the hall, dear." She says to Nina.

She turns to me. "Would you like a biscuit, dear?"

I shake my head.

"No, I'm fine Thankyou."

"Are you sure, dear?"

"Yes, Thankyou though."

"Very polite you are, dear."

"Thanks…"

The conversation stretches and breaks like an old bit of gum. Nina marches back in.

"Thankyou, ma'am!" she says, "But we best be off now."

"Oh!" the old lady smiles, "So soon? Stay for a biscuit, at least!"

"No, no really." Nina says softly, "We must go!"

"What about a cup of tea!" she offers, "Stay a bit longer!"

"No!" Nina says bluntly, "We don't want to stay. We want to go home."

I shoot an apologetic look at the old lady who bursts into tears.

"I had sons and daughters and grandchildren, who used to visit me all the time! But now they all just want me to go into a home so they can get their paws on my money!" she sobs. I pat her gently on the elbow.

Nina glares at me from the doorway, and I hurry through. And I hope, one day, I'm _not_ going to become an abandoned old lady. One day you're a stylish, young teenager. The next you're a lonely, desperate old lady, willing to let complete strangers in for a cup of tea just so you can have someone to chat with. Scary.

We wait out on the road, and suddenly along comes a long, black, stretch limousine!

"Oh my gosh!" I gawk, as it stops in front of us. "I thought you were ordering a taxi!"

Nina smiles at me mischievously. The driver hops out and stares at us like we're vermin.

"Er…" he says in a poshly disgusted voice, "I must obviously be mistaken, I am looking for a …er… Miss Nina? She has ordered a limousine."

I look sideways at Nina, as she steps forward.

"I'm Miss Nina." She says, "I ordered the limousine."

"Very well then…" he says, unconvinced. "But you realize that limousine rides cost a fair bit amount of money, do you? And I do not give children rides for free."

"No, We'll be paying today." Nina smiled, flashing a handful of cash in his hand.

"Fine." He says, and holds the door open for me, and Nina. "Here you are Miss Nina, and… companion."

We pull the suitcase into the boot, and then jump in.

_Oh my gosh._

Inside is a long leather seat, kitted out with comfortable cushions, and a tiny television.

We hop in, and Nina straps a thing around her waist and over her chest.

"Put on your seatbelt!" she snaps, as a stare at her. This is the first time I've ever been in a car, but I daren't say it aloud. I strap myself up, and then sit forward nervously.

"Where would you two like to go, then?" the driver asks.

"Oh no! I've forgotten what hotel our we're staying in! It was rich and expensive-looking…. Very fun and er….posh!" Nina says.

"I expect you're wanting one of the Hotels on Star Street."

"Oh yes! It's definitely on that street!" Sighs Nina, acting as though she just remembered.

The driver raises an eyebrow, but nods, and turns on the ignition. Suddenly there is a tiny roaring noise.

"Nina!" I shout, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

Nina raises an eyebrow.

"Chill!" she says, "he's just starting the car…"

I tell her it was a joke, and turn to stare out the window. Things are whizzing by at enormous speed. Cars, trees, birds, pedestrians, motorcycles. Why are they all going so fast? I want to examine them- examine this new world. What sort of car is that? How big is that tree? What color is that bird? Is she on her way to work? Is he one his way to school?

It suddenly occurs to me that maybe, just maybe, we're the ones moving at incredible speed, not them.

Nina looks at me as I finger the television in wonder. I've heard of televisions, but I've never seen one before. I touch a button. Color suddenly explodes through the tiny black screen. I screech and frantically press buttons until it goes black again.

"You've never been in a car before, have you?" It is Nina. She has been watching me closely.

"No." I say truthfully.

"And you've never seen a TV before either?"

The honest answer is no, so I tell her just that.

"Were you really poor?" Nina asks softly.

"Well, not exactly…" I start to say, but then I stop. I decide to tell her the whole story. Everything.

"To be honest," I say, "I've never even left my Auntie's basement. I don't know why. My mother went insane when I was about six, or seven. I can't really remember. My Auntie died a few days back, and my Mum told me to run… and that they were coming for me next. So I ran away. And I thought I might need some money, so I went into my Aunt's bedroom, and I found a massive stash of money. Then I went outside. I'd never seen the sun before, or anything else until about yesterday afternoon."

"Then how do you know stuff?" Nina asks, dumbfounded, "Like that I'm a girl, and that this is a car, and what the sun is and how to speak?"

"My mum sort of taught me…" I say, "You know, English and Math and all that stuff, but I learnt about the outside world from books."

For some reason, Nina turns red, and looks at the floor.

"What's wrong?" I say, confused.

"I can't…" The rest of the sentence is inaudible as Nina hides her face in her hands.

"What?" I ask. "Nina, what's wrong?"

"I can't read." Nina says finally.

She looks up at me, her face a mixture of indignation and shame; like she's daring me to say a snide comment, but begging me not to at the same time. I look at her, my face blank. I don't know how to feel about this.

"Oh well." I say.

"Oh well?" Nina says, astounded, "You mean you don't mind? That I can't read and everything? I'm not stupid-" she raises her chin in confidence, "-but I just never learnt."

"It's fine!" I say truthfully, "It doesn't bother me! I just find it hard to imagine a world without reading. I mean, that's how I learnt everything I know- by reading."

We sit in silence for a minute or two, until, suddenly Nina yelps, and yells to the driver.

"Oh my gosh!" she shrieks, "I totally forgot! Stop here! _Stop here!_"

The driver slams on the breaks with surprising haste and pulls over to the side of the road.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asks, startlingly unruffled.

"One second!" Nina says, and jumps out of the limousine. I stare out the window. We have stopped outside a tacky orphanage. It is two storied, with peeling blue paint. There is a rusty gate outside, that once must have used to have been blue. Now it is a variety of colors, and patterns; a month's work of taggers. There is a spacious front lawn, full of tangled weeds mixed with rusted toys and bikes. The front door is slightly wonky, as though one of it's hinges is broken, and a window has been boarded up. To add to the scene, there is an array of old newspapers scattered outside the gate, as though whoever lives inside neither knows, nor cares, what is happening in the world. I see Nina fight her way through the messy front lawn, to the front door. She doesn't bother to knock, but charges straight in. I sit for a second. The driver looks at me questioningly, but I shrug. Suddenly Nina comes back with a eight year old hanging on her sleeve. She is running, to the total bewilderment of me. Then I notice something. An angry, old woman is chasing after Nina with a broom. Nina jumps into the car, and pulls the eight year old after her. The old woman smacks on the car door, yet the driver starts up the engine and we speed away. Nina is panting, and I stare at the little boy sitting beside me. He smiles up at me.

"Sorry!" Nina puffs, "This is my little brother Bruce. Brucey, this is Meggie. She's my new friend. She has a lot of money. She's going to give us a new life."

Bruce smiles for a second, then screws up his nose.

"You don't look rich! And you don't smell rich!" He holds his nose to punctuate his point.

"Bruce!" Nina snaps, "Don't be rude!" and she whacks his upper arm.

"Do I really smell?" I say weakly.

"Well, yeah…" Nina says unhappily, "But it doesn't really matter, it's not too bad. Well, not as bad as Bruce does. "

Bruce opens his mouth to retaliate, but changes his mind.

"Cool car!" he says, "How d'you get it?"

"It's not ours!" I say, smiling, "It's like a taxi service. We're getting a lift to the fanciest Hotel in…"

I trail away.

"Where… where are we?" I ask faintly.

"Um…" Nina says, "We're in New York!"

"Oh!" I say, pretending I was just testing her. Bruce raises an eyebrow, but Nina gives me an understanding look.

After a long ride, which consisted of three TV channel based arguments, a brief name-calling contest and a desperate toilet stop, the limousine finally stops.

"Here we are." Says the driver, sniffing. "Are you sure this is where you want?" He takes another glance at our dirty clothes.

"Yes." Says Nina sternly.

"Ok then." The driver says, "Here are five _five-star_ _Hotels_. The best in New York- now go find yours."

Nina pays the driver, while I thank him. We stroll down the street, looking at the five different hotels, each standing a few shops down from each other. There's one called _The Blitz_, which has a big number of flashing lights, and is promoting it's amazingly spacious rooms, with a fancy restaurant below. The next one is called _Diamond Dynasty_, and is very posh and prim. The next one is called _Zoinks and Zinks_, and is probably the tallest, and most modern so far, with several arcades and television lounges. The fourth one is called _The Sportz_ and promotes a large variety of indoor sports, from table tennis to badminton, and hockey to water polo. The last is called _Classy Clowns, _and looks half posh, and half crazy. It supports a number of live entertainment shows, with clowns, circus performers and musicians. I think this one sounds the most fun. But…

"No!" Bruce shouts, "I'm scared of clowns!"

I don't see how you can be scared of cheery, laughing, painted people, but I don't object.

"What about the Diamond Dynasty?" I suggest.

"Nah." Nina says, "That looks _so_ posh. I'd bet people they'd kick you out if you even burped."

"What about Zoinks and Zinks?" Bruce says, smiling. "That looks fun!"

"The Sportz!" Nina disagrees, "I reckon that looks best."

"Let's stay at The Blitz." I say quickly, to interrupt the tiring argument.

"Well, I guess…. it _is_ your money." Nina says, and we walk through the big double doors, and into _The Blitz_.

**Chapter 7- Room Service**

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Guess where I am right now? **_

_**Wait… you're a diary, you can't guess. But anyway, I'm staying at The Blitz! Cool eh?**_

_**We checked in a few hours ago, and got this massive room. **_

_**The receptionist seemed apprehensive (check out that big word!) but we charmed our way into a massive suite. It seems more like a house, with a kitchen, two bedrooms, a lounge and two bathrooms! It is brilliant!**_

_**Going to check out the hotel and it's features in a sec- just got out of the bath! It was so cool! It was a Jah-coo-zee! (I don't know how to spell it) Oh! Bruce just said it's spelt like Jacuzzi. Whoops!**_

_**Yay!**_

_**Going shopping later tonight! **_

_**My life is so great at the moment!**_

_**Still worrying about Mum…. But… oh well!**_

_**She'll be fine.**_

_**Right?…..**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

"You wanna order some room service?"

It's Nina. She has just gotten out of the shower, and is looking pink and smelling fresh.

"Oh!" she says, smiling, "I bags the double bed with the pink duvet! You can have the one with the red one."

I peer into the room. Sure enough, Nina has set out all her stuff on the pink bed. By all her stuff, I mean, she had placed her grimy socks, and worn out sneakers at the foot of the bed.

"Bruce has got the smaller room, it's got a double bed too."

There are two bedrooms, one with two double beds, the other with one. Us girls are sleeping in the room with two double beds. Our room is incredible, with silk curtains and a big television with a thing called surround sound. There is a small radio as well, and a walk in wardrobe. Bruce's room is smaller, with a rug, but no surround sound. He does have a bigger TV, with more channels though. He doesn't have a radio, or a walk in wardrobe. In the lounge there was a comfy, crème sofa with a Foosball table near it. There is a shaggy crème rug in the center of the floor. Conjoined to the lounge was a kitchen, which is black tiled, with sparklingly clean white counters. It has a sliver fridge that was packed with goodies.

"Room service?" Nina asks again, waking me from my daydreams.

"What's that?" I ask.

"We order whatever food we want!" Nina exclaims.

She picks up the phone and speaks into it.

"Hello! Yes, this is room 306… … yes… we'd like to order room service… yes? No… no thanks… yes please… Ok, one second…" she covers the receiver with her hand and calls to Bruce.

"Whadd'ya want?" she shouts. "Room service!"

"Oh!" Bruce calls back, "Um! I'll have two bowls of French fries and a beef burger!"

Nina repeats the order into the phone.

"What about you?" she asks me.

"I'll have whatever you're having…" I say. I don't know what French fries and beef burgers are. All I've ever eaten is stew, and Soup.

"I'll have two orders of…" Nina says into the phone, "Oh! I know! French fries and mince pies. And also, can we have three chocolate sundaes, and a bottle of _Coke_… and a loaf of garlic bread. Thanks! Yes, room 306. Total of… What? I have to pay how much? _You're kidding me!_ You're not? ….Ok, Ok, send it up…. Thanks, yeah…..Ok, bye."

She slams down the phone.

"Two hundred dollars for all that!" she shouts. "What a rip off!"

"So what are French fries and mince pies? Is that what we're having for lunch?" I say nervously.

"Yeah!" Nina says, dreamily. "It's my favorite lunch! I've only had it once before!"

We sit both thinking about out favorite lunches. Mine would have to be the one time Auntie Sarah was sick in bed, and so Uncle Steve made us all a yummy food called pancakes, I think. He put these two circles of ice-cream on top, with chocolate sauce as well. That was the first and last time I had pancakes, ice-cream, and chocolate sauce. Uncle Steve was really neat, he used to stay at home while Auntie Sarah went to work. He wouldn't tell me why I had to stay in the basement, but he entertained me with magic tricks, and humorous stories. If ever Auntie Sarah was yelling, or angry at me, he'd make faces behind her back. Uncle Steve was really cool.

There's a knock at the door which bumps me out of my reverie.

"That'll be room service!" Nina explains, and rushes to open it. In marches a uniformed woman, pushing a big tray with several sliver platters on it. We all rush over and sit at the table.

"Who ordered the beef burger?" says the woman with the platters, and in rushes Bruce in his socks, grinning all over his face.

"That would be me!" he says, taking a seat, and digging in. The lady smiles, and starts to lay out napkins, knives, forks and spoons. She give us all a meal, and an ice cream sundae and then leaves.

"What's this?" I ask, peering at the pie.

"It's pastry with mince inside!" Nina says.

"What's mince?" I ask.

"Meat."

"What sort of meat?"

"No idea!"

Nina sinks her teeth into the pie. Horrible brown muck oozes it's way out. _Yuck._

"Meat is animals, isn't it?" I say, revolted.

"Yeah!" Nina says, swallowing more pie.

"I don't think I want to eat animals…" I say. I feel like I'm going to be sick.

"OK then." Bruce says, "You're going to be vegetarian then?"

Nina nods at me.

"Yes…" I say uncertainly. _What's vegetarian?_

We finish our food, (I gave my pie to Bruce) and then we traipse out the door.

"Shopping!" burbles Nina excitedly.

"Shopping…" grumbles Bruce unhappily.

"Shopping?" I agree warily.

And we hail a limousine.

Chapter 8- shopping

"Nice?"

I look up. Nina is strutting around, wearing a denim blue jacket, denim blue jeans, and a pink top, with pink shoes to match.

"Wow!" I say, "No, though, too much…. Er…. that blue 'denim' stuff."

I don't know much about fashion.

Nina plucks a blue skirt off a rack.

"Try it on!" she says, "It'll match your eyes."

I bounce into a cramped dressing room, and try on the skirt. I smooth it out in front of the mirror.

"That looks great!" says Nina, and thrusts a matching top at me.

Bruce comes marching past.

"Oh!" he smiles, "There you are!"

"I must say you are looking dazzling, Brucey!" Nina says.

He is wearing smart new sneakers, cargo pants, and a t-shirt saying _Devil_ on it. We parade around a bit longer, trying on clothes, and showing them off. After two hours we finally dump four piles of clothes on the counter. Each.

"Most of these are designer labels, you realize?" says the shopkeeper, skeptically.

"Yeah!" we say in unison.

"You can't possibly afford all this!" she says angrily.

"Try me." I smile.

Ten minutes, and four thousand dollars later, we get a limousine to another mall.

"Brucey," Nina says, "Here's fifty dollars. Go to the arcade and go crazy. Meggie and I have some serious shopping to do."

We march purposefully into the nearest shop. It is a dress selling shop. And once again, we hit the dressing rooms.

"Do you like this pink one?"

"A bit flowery if you ask me!"

"That one you're wearing is nice!"

"Yeah, I love the black and white checks!"

"I might get the same one in blue."

"No, try on this one, it's a bit short though."

"No! It's too big…"

"This one's nice!"

"Ohhh! Fancy!"

"This one is OK, I guess."

"That one's brilliant!"

"I think I'll get this one."

"What about this one?"

"Yes, and that one. And this one, this one and the green one."

"I'll get the blue one- and the red one too, maybe the short one…."

We finally stumble out of the shop, weighed down with numerous bags. By the time we collect Bruce, and get back to our rooms in the hotel, we are all exhausted. I've never done so much in my life!

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Whoa. Guess how much I spent today?**_

_**Actually…. You don't want to know! I bought twelve full outfits, nine dresses, and fourteen pairs of shoes! We went to a place called a mall! It was like a giant. . . . shopping center of some sort. Wow. **_

_**I became vegetarian. I don't want to eat meat.**_

_**Blah.**_

_**Who would want to eat a cute little lamb, or a cow?**_

_**Honestly.**_

_**Somehow I miss Mum. And Jessie. I wish I had brought Jessie with me. I miss her nearly as much as Mum ! ! !**_

_**What will happen to Jessie?**_

_**Will someone take care of her for me?**_

_**Should I go back? **_

_**NO.**_

_**Forget I said that.**_

_**No way. **_

_**There's no way I'm EVER going back there again.**_

_**It doesn't matter.**_

_**She **__**doesn't matter.**_

_**I have Nina, and Bruce now. And the Blitz. It's real nice.**_

_**Life is going great for me at the moment.**_

_**No worries.**_

_**Seriously.**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

"That was fun shopping." Nina says.

We are lying in bed, so tired, yet too happy to sleep.

"I've never been shopping before." I say.

"I have. But only at the orphanage, and that was food shopping."

"Oh well, at least you got to go outside."

"Yeah…"

"Meggie…."

"Mmm?"

"Can you teach me to read?"

I sit up on my pillows.

"I think so, but It might be hard…" I say uncertainly, "And I'm not a very good teacher…But… Yes, I'll teach you."

"Thanks… Meggie."

She flicks off the light and we both, gradually fall asleep.

Five rays of light flow through the curtains. I open my eyes, yawning. It's morning. I sit up in bed, and stretch.

I look around our amazing room, our giant Television, our walk in wardrobe…Then suddenly I jump a foot into the air.

Mum is sitting in the middle of the carpet.

I leap out of bed and run to her.

"Mum!" I gasp.

"Darling…" she says, clutching my feet. "Darling… Save yourself… Run… don't let them catch you…"

"Mum!" I cry, "How did you find me? What's wrong? Mum!"

"Meggie…" she whispers, "Run…"

The suddenly she collapses, lying arms outstretched on the pale pink carpet.

"Mum!" I shout, "Mum, are you OK?"

I drop to the floor beside her to feel her pulse. I grasp her wrist, tight.

Nothing.

"Mum!" I whisper, "Please… Mum!"

Suddenly I hear a single, muffled footstep. I find myself staring face to face with a black shoe. I look up. A man, with an angry, twisted face is staring down at me. He pulls something out of his pocket, and points it at my face. There is silence, then an ear splitting BANG!

In a split second, something is flying towards me and-

I sit up suddenly.

It is dark.

I wave my hand in front of my face. I can't see anything.

_Am I dead?_

No, I'm in bed. It was a dream. It was all just a dream. I lie back down on my pillow, and slowly fall back asleep. My dreams are uneasy, mist rolls through them, weaved with the sound of guns. The mans twisted face appears, once or twice, and voices ring in my ears.

_Run, child, run._

Chapter 9- Bad news

"Quick, Meggie, wake up!"

I stir lazily.

"What is it?" I mumble from under the covers.

"Your Mum!" Nina says, "She's in the paper! It's… it's not good…"

I throw off the covers, my heart beating fast under my nightgown.

"What's happened?" I whisper.

"She's been…. She's been killed…" Nina says, looking at the floor. "It's _horrible_. Read it."

She thrust a newspaper at me, and I clutch it as tight as a lifeline.

"I can't read… remember?" Nina says, "I just saw the picture of her, and saw the word dead. I know that word. Can you read it out to me?"

I stare at the front page article, and clear my throat.

"_Yesterday afternoon, police inspecting the deceased Sarah White's house, found a body in Miss White's basement. It has been identified as her sister, Sally White. Sally had been missing for several years, after her famous bank robbery in London. Police suspect Sarah, too, was involved. Sally has been on the top of F.B.I s Most Wanted list for years now, and was presumed dead. Her body was found, mutilated by bullets. It appears to have been in the basement for nearly a day and a half, and a full scale investigation has gone into interrogating the police who were clearing out Sarah's house._

"_If Sally had been found earlier," states Dr. James Harrison, from National Hospital, "She may have had a chance of survival. Even though she had nine bullets to the stomach and legs, none of them were extremely critical, and she may well have survived. Yet it seems, to the carelessness of the Police Department, she was left to bleed to death in the basement, where Junior Police Officer Michelle Hayes, found her dead."_

"_It was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life." Miss Hayes tells us exclusively. "I walked down into the basement in the dark, and stepped on something. I flicked on the lights, and I screamed my heart out. She was lying there… in a pool of blood… I quit the Police Force after that. I just… I don't think my heart can take that again…"_

_Chief Officer Daniel Morton, explains the situation._

"_We have looked up all we can on Sally White, and though we originally thought her to be a suspect in the murder of Sarah White, we have different suspicions now. We have found out, that Sally White had a daughter. We have learnt her name is Meggie, and we have proof that she was living in the basement with her mother, in her Aunt's house. We have found out that every family member in the White family, including all distant relations, Grandparents, Second Cousins, long-lost sisters and Great Uncles twice removed, have been killed in a series of suspicious accidents. We have evidence to believe, that Meggie White, is a murderous teenager, and is responsible for these deaths. She is thought to be between eleven and nineteen, with high resemblance to both Sarah, and Sally. If seen, she is not to be approached, yet please call the Station immediately. We are almost certain she is the murderer, yet we are ruling nothing in, or nothing out."_

_The death of Sally and Sarah, and many nameless White's may come as a shock, and a tragedy to you, so in their favor, keep an eye out for that murderous young teenager."_

I look up at Nina. She is looking back at me, her eyes huge with fear.

"That's not true!" Nina whispers. "I know that wasn't you!"

"I know…" I say, my eyes swimming with tears. Mum… Dead…

"Hey guys! Can we go to the movies today?" It's Bruce. He rushes into the room, smiling.

"My friend Billy went to the Movie Theatre. He said it was great!" Bruce says, slowing down when he sees my face wet with tears.

"Meggie's mum has just been killed…" Nina whispers to him.

"What?" Bruce gasps, and grabs the newspaper out of my numb hands. He scans the page quickly, mouthing the words.

"You can read?" I ask, momentarily distracted.

"Yeah!" he says, "I'm not dumb like Nina."

"I'm not _dumb!_" Nina hisses, "It's just… I didn't actually start school 'till I was nine. So I skipped out on learning to read. Whenever we had to read in class or anything, I ran away. And also….English is my second language."

"Really?" I ask, surprised.

"Yes, I'm Russian, you see." Nina sighs, "Me and Brucey were born in Russia, but our parents died when I was five, and when Brucey was only one. My mother was Russian, and very rich. But she moved over here, into New York. I never knew my father. I don't know what happened to my mother. She left me at home with Brucey, and went out grocery shopping. She never came back. I called 911 about five hours later, and they searched for her. She was never found. They put me and Brucey in a Orphanage, and I was forced to learn English. The Orphanage couldn't wait to be rid of me, as you saw-" I guess Nina is referring to the woman with the broom "- and that's pretty much my life up until now. Now we can be orphans together!"

I look up at Nina, tears tracing marks on my silent face.

"Nina!" I say softly, "That is _so_ sad. I'm sorry."

Nina looks at me, laughing.

"I'm joking, silly!" she says, "Do I _look_ Russian to you? Haha! Brucey and I really never knew our dad, but our mum was amazing. She was so cool, but, I dunno. I guess we weren't cool enough for her or something. She abandoned us at the orphanage when I was six. I still remember it. She said we were going to a play land. The second we got out of the car, she drove away. We never saw her again. It doesn't matter though. But I wasn't joking about that last bit- we can be orphans together!"

I scowl at Nina for a second, but then think about the last comment.

I hate Orphans.

No, I don't.

I feel so sorry for them. But I hate reading about Orphans. Everything is so miserable, and so unhappy, but then suddenly, a rich and exciting family comes and adopts the orphan, and suddenly everything is great again. But I guess that's what I am now- an Orphan.

"So much for not ruling anything in, or out!" Bruce snorts abruptly.

"What?" Nina says.

"That's what it says!" Bruce says, and I see that he's picked up the newspaper again, "They're not ruling anything in, or out, yet they're practically saying 'Meggie did it!' and 'She's a horrible murderer!'. What rubbish."

"So you believe I'm innocent?" I ask hopefully.

"Of course!" Bruce smiles, "If you were a murderer, I would be dead by now."

_Logical thinking._

"You're quite smart, for a eight year old." I smile.

"Thanks, but you must not have met many eight year olds." Bruce says, modestly.

"Oh stop being stupid Brucey!" Nina heaves, suddenly impatient, "We all know you're a child prodigy. Now are we going to the movies or what?"

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Mum's dead. **_

_**Gone forever.**_

_**xxxMegsxxx**_

We got back from the movies, late afternoon. It was a silly romantic comedy, about a motorcycle gang who all fall in love, with the same woman. They all decide to change their ways and get hair cuts and makeovers. But their attitude leads them into several hilarious situations, and in the end, they find out the woman is actually just a mannequin they glanced at while they drove past at full speed on their motorcycles. It should have been funny, but….. I dunno. I just don't feel right.

We had had lunch at the theatre, and were all completely full. I still feel dazed. Everything I eat feels like cotton, or candyfloss.

I just can't believe she's gone.

Chapter 10- wanted

_**Dear diary,**_

_**Sorry I haven't written in days. **_

_**We've been kept real busy these past days. **_

_**Went swimming at the pools three days ago.**_

_**Went bowling two days ago.**_

_**Went shopping again yesterday.**_

_**We checked out the bar and casino today.**_

_**We were kicked out of the casino, and were only allowed 'Cokes' at the bar.**_

_**We are all constantly asked where our parents are.**_

_**I don't like to talk, or think about Mum any more. **_

_**It hurts too much.**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

"You wanna get some room service again?"

It's Nina. She's smiling down at me.

I was reading on my bed. One of the nicer features of the Hotel is that it has a library. Nina got out a magazine with lots of pictures.

"I'm not very hungry…" I say truthfully. I haven't been truly hungry since… well… you know.

"Are you sure?" Nina says.

I nod, and she flounces off to the phone. It's nearly seven o'clock at night. Bruce's bedtime. I yawn, and stretch.

"Bruce!" I call, finally getting up. "Your sister's getting some room service. It's time for you to go to bed."

I walk into his room. He's sitting on his bed, reading something on a piece of paper.

"Look…" he whispers.

I take the paper from him, dreading more bad news. I am right to dread. On the piece of paper, in big, bold letters is 'Wanted'. I read on, quickly.

'WANTED'

MEGGIE WHITE, aged between possibly eleven and nineteen. Tall, with black hair and blue eyes. Wanted for the murders of Sally, and Sarah White. MEGGIE WHITE may be traveling with companions. If seen, please take her immediately to 145 Fall Street, where most of the Police Force will be stationed. MEGGIE WHITE may be dangerous and armed, so approach with care and caution.

_Reward: $3 million dollars_

_DEAD OR ALIVE'_

"But she was my mother!" I gasp in anger, "And my aunt! How can they expect me to kill my family!?"

"Because they don't know you." Bruce says matter-of-factly, "If they knew you, and knew you loved your Mother and Aunt, they'd believe you. But at the moment, you remain unmasked. Just the shadow of a possibly violent teenager, killing her family because they refused to buy a cellphone or something. It happens all the time."

"But…" I stammer, "Now I can't go anywhere! Everyone will want me! They'll want that money! They'll want me!"

"No, they won't." Bruce says, smiling. "They don't have a picture of you- Meggie White could just be any girl who's tall with black hair and blue eyes."

I see sense in this, but still feel troubled.

"Though actually, this is kinda suspicious." Bruce continues, with his eyebrows creased in confusion, "They say you're dangerous and armed, but then they say to take you to 145 Fall Street. They said in the newspaper that you were dangerous and not to be approached. Why are they suddenly saying to capture you? It's plain weird."

"Nina, come look at this!" I call.

Nina walks into the room, cocking her head to one side.

"Mmm?" she asks.

"Read it to her, Bruce." I say.

When Bruce finishes, Nina's response is different than I would've expected.

"Oh well." She says boredly, "None of it's true, anyway."

"What do you mean?" I say, confused.

"Well you're not the murderer, so you're fine."

"What?"

I am outraged.

"Just because you and I both know I'm innocent, doesn't mean the police does! I thought you'd be concerned that there was a three million dollar price on my head!"

"Three million dollars?"

Nina snatches the paper out of my hands. Her eyes glimmer greedily.

"You're not…" I say weakly, "You're not going to turn me in, are you?"

"Of course not!"

But it's not Nina who answers, it's Bruce. He is looking at Nina very sternly.

"Nina is your friend. She _won't_ do a thing like that." But it seems more like he's telling her, than me. I tuck Bruce into bed, and Nina starts acting normal again.

"I'm throwing this in the bin!" Nina says, pointing at the Wanted poster. But as she walks out of the room, I see her slip the piece of paper into her pocket.

Chapter 11- trust

"Yes. That's right. All off."

Nina holds the knife uncertainly.

"But… Are you sure?" Nina cries.

"Yes." I say angrily, "Cut it off."

Nina raises the knife at my neck and suddenly…

"NO!"

Bruce scrambles into the room, and grabs the knife off Nina.

"What?" I snap, not in the mood for a silly eight-year old.

"Don't cut off her head!" Bruce sobs. Nina's expression softens.

"Oh don't be silly Brucey." Nina sighs, "I was going to cut off Nina's hair."

"Oh!" Bruce says, a look of comprehension dawning on his face.

"I need a new identity." I say. "I'm dying my hair, but first I want a new hair style."

I gesture to the bottle of light brown hair dye beside me.

"Ready?" Nina says, raising the knife again.

"NO!" Bruce roars again. "Not with a knife! Use scissors you loony!"

"There are none." I sigh impatiently, "None anywhere. Trust me, I've checked."

"But Nina's arm could slip!" Bruce quivers, "And then _Blah_! Dead."

"Don't worry." I say happily, "I trust Nina."

But suddenly I'm not so sure anymore. It would be dreadfully easy for Nina's arm to 'slip', and for her to say it was an accident. I remember the greedy look on her face when she saw the reward for me.

_Dead or Alive_.

I sit up straight and Nina yanks my ponytail. Then with one, long swiping movement, I hear knife cutting hair. I move away, but my ponytail stays in Nina's hand. She's done quite a neat job- now my hair is ruffled, but nicely arranged in a short bob.

"Cute." Nina says, happily, "Suits you."

Then she leads me to the bathroom. Dying time to begin…

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Whoa. Whoever that girl in the mirror is, she's not me.**_

_**My hair is light brown now, and short. **_

_**I think . . .**_

_**I think I look nice. . . **_

_**Oh yeah. **_

_**I'm dying my hair because I'm wanted.**_

_**For the murder of my Mum.**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

"Whoa!" Bruce cries, "You look real cool!"

"Thanks!" I say.

Nina is on the floor in the lounge, counting our money. I stare at Bruce, my eyes narrowing.

"I challenge you, Bruce, to a game of Foosball!" I say in a loud voice.

Bruce giggles and says,

"First one to the Foosball Table gets to be the Blue Team!" He shrieks, and rushes towards to table. We start an exhausting match, which involves several arguments over whether that goal was right, and whether that is allowed.

"Nah!" I state, "That was definitely not a goal."

"Your player hit it in!" Bruce says, "You scored me a goal!"

"Exactly!" I say, "_My_ player hit it into _my _goal, which makes it a no goal!"

When he continues to argue, I rush forward and tip him upside down.

"Am I right?" I laugh.

"No!" he giggles, "No! Never!"

I heave him over my back like a sack of potatoes.

"You sure about that?" I chuckle.

"Yes! No!" He shrieks, turning red with laughter, "Ok, fine! No goal! You win! Just put me down!"

"Would you two be quiet!" Nina roars, "I'm trying to count!"

"Sorry Nina." We say in unison, mocking her slightly.

"What's up?" I ask, sitting down next to her.

"We're running out of money, and fast." Nina says sadly. "I checked up on the Hotel Bill this morning. In fact, once we've paid that, we'll barely have a cent to our name."

"But I thought we had nearly half a million dollars?" I stutter, amazed.

"Yeah!" Nina says angrily, "We did! But we gave tons away to that guy, Johnny, or something, we've spent nearly two thousand on all our expensive food, and fancy restaurants, and not to mention all the shopping sprees. And this hotel isn't exactly cheap either."

She glares at me as though this is all somehow my fault.

"I wanted to spend the money on getting Brucey a good education, and being sensible with all the money." Nina says darkly, "But all you've wanted to do is spend, spend, spend! It was your idea to stay in a five star hotel! Your idea to go on a shopping spree! Your idea to get room service nearly every night! Very soon we'll be back out on the street, begging for food. I don't want that for me, nor Brucey."

I don't say anything. None of these statements are true, nor fair.

"I could really use three million dollars…" Nina whispers under her breath.

"Nina, if you dare turn me in, they won't even recognize me!" I say, sounding masses more confident than I feel, "I'll deny that I'm Meggie White, and you'll get in trouble with the Police, for making false alarms for money."

Nina suddenly looks on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry Meggie!" Nina sobs, "I'd never turn you in! I was just angry, that's all. Please trust me again! I swear I'll never, ever turn you in! You're my friend!"

So I vow that I trust her, and that I'm sorry, but inside I'm scared.

_But I don't trust her. Not anymore._

Chapter 12- the betrayal of Nina

I wake up early. Bruce is already up, watching TV in his room. I go in to see him.

"Foosball Game?" he asks.

"Nah, not now. I'm not in the mood." I sigh.

"Nina getting you down?" Bruce says quietly.

"Well… yeah." I admit.

"She's a bit like that." Bruce says, "She's very greedy. She loves money, and shifting the blame. She's really nice, but gets overcome with greed. But I dunno, I think she'll value your friendship over money. She really likes you. It'll blow over in a day or two; she'll go back to normal."

"Well, you are her brother…" I say uncertainly. I still don't really trust her. Bruce senses my doubt.

"If you can't trust her, trust me. I may be only eight, but… I know things. I'll keep her in line. She just needs persuasion; that the money is not running out, that we're not doomed to a life of begging, that it's all going to be fine and etcetera."

I look at Bruce, desperate for answers.

"But is it true?" I say.

"I'm not smart enough to tell the future, Meggie." Bruce smiles, softly. "Sorry."

We sit and watch TV for a while. On TV is some silly cartoon, one that involves people with long noses, big heads, and tiny feet. Everything is so unrealistic, so untrue.

_Reminds me of my life at the moment._

I sigh aloud, attracting stares from Bruce.

"Hey Meggie!"

It's Nina. She's hovering in the doorway.

"Hi Nina…" I say, grimacing. I notice her fake smile, and stiff body.

"Can I see you outside for a second?"

"Er…" I glance sideways at Bruce, who shrugs in unhelpfulness.

"Ok…" I say, still apprehensive. I follow her into the sitting room, and she shuts Bruce's door with a flourish.

"She's here, that's her! Meggie White!" Nina shrieks the second Bruce's door is shut .

Suddenly from all sorts of places spring men, all with dark skin, and curly black hair. They emerge from under the sofa, behind the curtain and even one (to my great surprise) from _inside_ the fridge!

"Who…Who are you?" I ask quickly, "Who are you all?"

"We are the Police." Says one particularly tall and dark one.

"Nina?" I ask, "Was this you?"

Nina starts to cry.

"I'm so sorry Meggie. It's just… Me… Brucey…" she gasps between sobs. "You … you understand right?"

I nod, dazed, but I don't understand.

Why would anybody, anybody in the entire world, sell out their friends for money?

"Meggie…" Nina sobs again, "I really am sorry… you were one of the best friends I ever had…"

But I don't believe that. I don't believe that at all.

"You were the _only _friend I _ever_ had." I answer, my face strangely wet.

"Ok, switch of the waterworks." Says the tall man, "And I believe you have the right to remain silent."

"Wait…" I say, with one last fleeting look at Nina, "I need to get something first. Just one thing, OK?"

"You are under arrest." Says the tall man impatiently, "You have the right to remain silent."

"Please. It's just my diary." I say doggedly.

"Where is it?" the tall man asks, his patience breaking. "I'll get it for you."

"It's on my bed." I say, "The red bed, the purple diary."

He runs into the bedroom quickly, and rushes back out with my purple diary.

"I'll be hanging on to this." He says, holding it out of my reach.

Nina clears her throat loudly.

"You'll be wanting a cough drop, I suppose." The tall man says coldly, turning to Nina slowly.

"No." says Nina quietly, "But you said… that if I turned her in you'd… you'd give me the money…"

"When?" asks the tall man slyly. "When did we say that?"

"When…" Nina says, "When I told you-"

"Do you have any proof she's Meggie?" he interrupts.

"Well, no, but-" Nina starts.

"Then we can't pay you. For all we know this could just be an impersonator." The tall man interrupts, yet again.

"So, no money?" Nina says weakly.

"No." the tall man answers, and with that, he signals his other men to leave. They all march out of the door.

"Please…" Nina begs, one last time, but… BANG! They slam the door in her face.

I notice the Police do not have uniforms. And as they bundle me down the stairs, I notice there are no Police Cars parked outside. _Maybe they're undercover?_

They push me through the lobby, and finally someone shoves me into a car. It is bashed up, and dented. The many men bundle into separate cars, all equally unattractive. I find myself in the tall mans car.

"What's your name?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me, even in this dangerous situation. The tall man whips around in his seat to face me. I gasp loudly. For staring back at me, is the angry, twisted face of a man.

The man that I am certain, killed my mother.

Chapter 13- 145 fall street

"You're not the police."

The Tall Man neither confirms or denies this.

"Where are you taking me?"

The Tall Man says nothing.

"Tell me, or I'll scream."

"Who will hear you?" his voice is cold and bitter. So I open my mouth to scream, but before I can do so, he stops. I suspect it's because he sensed I was going to scream, and so I stare at him with such ferocity it's a wonder his face doesn't melt.

"We're here." He says bluntly. He gets out of the car, and then reaches into the backseat to get me. I struggle, but he loops his arm around my waist and throws me over his back like I did to Bruce.

"Stop wriggling, Girl." He says irritably.

"Where are we?" I ask desperately, "Where?"

He doesn't reply, but I catch a glance of a letterbox, and it says 145 Fall Street.

"You put the Wanted Poster up." I say. It is not a question, more of a statement.

"No." He says, "I put one poster up, specifically placed so that the ignorant little boy would find it."

"Bruce is not ignorant." I find myself saying, and smile at my own defiance.

The men who were all hiding in the Hotel room are all following, their expressions stern. The man takes me up a long driveway, and leads me onto the front doorstep. He stands on the doorstep, and raps smartly on the door three times. He heaves me off his back, but grips me tightly by the shoulder instead. The door opens, and a woman's face peers through.

"Oh!" she says, "It's you, Charles. Come in, I thought you weren't going to be home until-"

"It does not matter anymore. I've found her." Says the Tall Man (Charles), hardly able to contain the excitement in his voice.

"Meggie…" the woman says sadly, "Oh. You found her. Meggie White. But… honey… she's just a child. Maybe you should just-"

"I am in no mood for your desperate pleading. Please let me in now."

His voice is one that is not to be messed with. Nothing in it suggests that she should continue her pleads. The woman opens the door wide, looking flustered, and reveals herself and her home.

She is short, with a round face, and is wearing a flowery apron over a short, white dress. She has two strands of black hair escaping her otherwise perfect bun. Two young girls are hovering behind her.

"Daddy?" says one, "Not again. I don't like the screaming…"

She is addressing the Tall Man.

"Yes Daddy, you promised." Says the other.

"Girls, to your rooms." Says the Tall Man, "My business is my own."

The girls shuffle off, looking back over their shoulders.

"You too, Rosa."

The round-faced woman gives me a distressed look, opens her mouth to say something, but turns her back to me. She walks back off down the corridor shaking her head slightly. The Tall Man closes the door, and starts to lead me through the house. After walking through a bathroom, two bedrooms, and down one steep staircase, I find myself back in a basement. _Hooray…_

There is a nice sofa, a fridge and a nice rug down there. But then I notice off in a dark corner a wobbly, wooden chair and a large pile of rope. For some reason, I think that these last objects and I are going to be close friends.

Soon enough, I am thrust into the wooden chair and tied to it with rope.

Yup.

Now I have many _great_ memories of my adventures in basements. The men all sit around, lounging on the sofa's and some passing drinks around.

"At last we have found you." The Tall Man says quietly, with his back to me. "You have been well hidden, and always snatched away from my grip."

He turns, and makes a snatching motion, as if he is trying to grip the air itself. The other men are watching, entranced.

"But now, we have you." He is facing me now, his twisted, scarred face bearing a smile.

"Why?" I ask suddenly, "Why do you want me?"

"Alas, it is not you we want." The Tall Man says darkly, "It is your money. Nay, not your money, it's _ours_."

"What money? What do you mean?" I say quickly, but my heart is beating. I am sure they are talking about the money I found, the money I _spent._ How will they react when they find out that most of the money is gone?

"You know where it is." Says the Tall Man, "We know you do. Give it to us."

"I- I can't!" I say desperately.

I don't have any money with me, it's all at the hotel. But also… there is still a whole heap of money at Auntie Sarah's place…

"Give us the money, and you'll leave this place happy… and whole."

I stare at the Tall Man. I start to quiver.

"I don't have any! I swear! I don't know what you're talking about!" But my terrified squeak is as good as a confession.

"Where are you hiding it?" he says again, his face growing red.

"It's not yours!" I say, with all the authority I can muster, "It's mine. It was Mum's, but she's dead, so now it's mine."

"Arghhh!" The Man throws his arms in the air with frustration.

"You don't get it, do you? You just don't understand! We _are not_ people to be messed with, Girl."

"I don't care who you are!" I say now, close to tears. "It doesn't matter! The money's gone! I spent it all." I've cracked. I make to slap my hand over my mouth, but my hands are tied too firmly.

"I promised myself I wouldn't…" the Tall Man starts talking to himself. "But desperate, desperate times… yes, even though I said… and she is only a child… yes, yes… it is the only way."

His vague mutterings echo through my ears. _It is the only way… desperate times… she is only a child._ Then a familiar voice haunts my already sore head.

_Run, child run._

_Oh_, I think sadly, _if only I had run faster._

Chapter 14- Torture

The Tall Man paces the basement, his brow wrinkled, and his twisted face alive with thought. He inclines his head forward and starts a quiet, yet deep conversation with one of his colleagues. Finally, he picks up a small knife, and walks towards me, while the man in whom he was talking to, leaves the basement briskly. I struggle again, and again, but the Tall Man holds me still and places the blade to my throat.

"Give me the money." He says again.

"No!" I say, and then add, "It's almost all gone anyway. I took less then half of it, and then spent it."

"Where's the rest of it then? The money you didn't spend?" The Tall Man says quickly, glaring at me.

"No idea!" I lie, but as quick as a flash, he withdraws the knife. He steps back and throws the knife as hard as he can; it stabs the back of the chair I'm sitting in; so close to piercing my flesh.

"Where?" he yells, "Tell me!"

When I still don't respond, he grabs an armful of darts; all of them sharp. He throws them quickly, angrily, all of them tracing the outline of my figure tied to the chair. The last one pierces my upper arm. I can't help but let out a shriek. It's gone deep; blood is flowing out. I grab the dart with my teeth and wrench it out of my arm. My arm explodes with pain. I shriek again. Never have I felt so much pain in my life!

"Tell me or I pierce your head! You don't want to become my new game of darts, do you? You wouldn't want anything harming that little head of yours." Teases the Tall Man. The basement door opens again. It's Rosa.

"Help!" I scream, "Help me! Help!"

But she just shakes her head sadly, and holds open the door for two other people. The first is the Tall Mans colleague- the one that left before. The second (my heart skips several beats) is Bruce.

"Bruce!" I sob, "Brucey! They've got you too."

Bruce is crying too, his arm being gripped so tightly by the man that it looks as though it will lose circulation any moment now.

"Now you're going to cooperate." Says the Tall Man, "Or we kill the boy. In front of you."

"No!" I shout. "Don't you dare hurt him! He has nothing to do with this! He knows _nothing!_ Leave him alone!"

"Tell us where the money is, then." The Tall Man says. He grabs Bruce and points a gun at his head. Bruce starts to whimper.

"I've told you!" I say, "I spent the money! _I spent it!_"

"No!" growls the man, "You told me you spent half of it, where's the rest?"

I don't answer. The man punches Bruce in the stomach, hard. Bruce howls in pain.

"OK!" I scream, "Ok! I'm sorry! The rest is at home! It's at my home!"

"Where do you live?" the Tall Man yells, "Tell me now!"

"I… I don't know!" I sob truthfully. Bruce receives another blow. This time, he leans over crying.

"I swear!" I say, "I only just went out of my Aunts basement the other day. I'd never been outside before! The rest is… the rest is in an underground passage. Under the safe in my Aunts room."

"Ah!" The Tall Man says, "Yes. I know where you live. I went there the other day."

"It's true!" I scream, fierce with rage, "You did kill my mother! I knew it! I dreamt it!"

"Stop screaming, child." Says the man, smiling slightly, as he kicks the keeling Bruce hard in the face. Bruce groans and sinks to the floor.

"We have no use for you anymore." Says the Tall Man, and spits on him. He kicks Bruce again, this time in the head. Bruce does not stir. The Tall Man strides over to me, and unties me. Before the ropes have even fell to the ground, I punch him hard in the face with all my might. Even as I do it I hear the whips of more than fourteen guns coming out of more than fourteen pockets.

"I suggest that you just come quietly with us." Says the man, massaging his jaw. "Now that we know where to go."

Chapter 15- the truth

I am pushed and shoved back into the car. Bruce is still in the basement. I start to cry at the thought of him, a tiny eight year old, lying there, bleeding, unconscious in the dark. But I have to think about me at the moment.

"What's going on?" I ask ferociously. Once again, it is just me and the Tall Man in the car.

"None of your business." Says the Tall Man boredly.

"Oh yes it is!" I steam, "It's the reason I was never allowed to leave the basement until I was thirteen! It's the reason my mothers insane, and now dead! It's everything to do with my business!"

"Ok, fine." Says the Tall Man, frustrating me with his lack of interest. "I'm Charles Robinson. That name mean anything to you?"

"No." I say.

"Robinson." He says again, "Doesn't that ring a bell?"

"No!" I hiss, "I said no the first time!"

"R&W." says the Tall Man, "What about that?"

"No!" I shout, trying to restrain from lashing out.

"R&W." he repeats, irritatingly slow. "Robinson and White. Our families used to be business partners."

"So what?" I say. I don't care about our families being business partners.

Big deal.

"We used to be a small time criminal gang." He says, finally rousing my interest, "R&W. You know, we'd steal things and sell them again, rob places, steal handbags. Nothing too big. But that was because we had stealth. No one had ever been nabbed from our gang. Not one of us. We were sneaky. But while we were being small time criminals we were actually planning, plotting. We had a grand plan. Rob a bank."

"No one can get away with that." I say quickly, "I've read plenty of books about it, everyone tries and is foiled-"

"Yes. Well. This isn't one of your books." Says the Tall Man, "The good guys don't always win, they don't always save the day. Anyway, we pulled off the bank robbery. We left your father, and your mother to look after the money, and everyone in the gang spread off to completely different places in the world. For two years everyone traveled non stop, just to shake off the police. We met up again in India. That is where you were born. But then, when it was up to your family, you parents and uncles, to give up our share of the money, they refused. Your father killed my brother in his escape plan. But your mother and father were stupid. The returned to New York and went into hiding with that idiotic Sarah. We tracked down your father, and we killed him. He refused to give us the money. We tracked down your aunt. She refused to give us the money, so we killed her too. The same with your mother, and with every other member of your family. Every long lost cousin, every grandma, every best friend of your long lost cousin or grandma. Now there's just you. And we are not afraid to kill you too."

I sit biting my lip in the back seat. Tears are spilling down my cheeks. Why? Why so much pain and destruction over strips of paper? Why so much fuss? Why so much murder? What has this world come to? Bank robberies, and murders.

And robbers and murderers walking free.

"I don't care." I find my mouth saying. "Kill me. Kill me now, let them find my body and then find you. Let you rot in a jail cell until you're a mouldy old skeleton."

But the Tall Man just ignores me again.

Chapter 16- I want money

When we finally reach the driveway of my old house, I see a 'SOLD' sign outside.

"I see they finally managed to sell the house." Says the Tall Man conversationally, parking the car and hoisting me out.

"What do you mean?" I ask suspiciously.

"Well, the last two people who lived here are dead, as well as their family and friends." Says the Tall Man, giving me a twisted grin. Instead of knocking on the door, he gives it a massive kick, and it falls in, with the grace of a chopped-down tree.

"Who's there?" says a cheery, happy voice. A pretty, slim woman walks into the hallway. She screams when she sees the Tall Man, with his many, scary companions. He silences her with a tiny, simple click of a gun. She falls to the ground, limp as a ragdoll, her body stained with blood. I shriek. It is the same weapon used on my mother. A gun. The Tall Man steps over her body, and walks down the corridor.

"This is your Aunts room?" he asks, pointing at a door. I nod dumbly, still in shock. The woman falls again and again, in my mind's horrible action replay.

He opens the door to the room. Everything is different. The once crimson curtains are now silver blinds, and the duvet is white, not red. The bookcase in the corner has been replaced by a desk, with a laptop. The closet is still there, and so is the safe. One of the Tall Mans colleagues, who I didn't see come in, looks at me.

"What's the password?" he asks, "For the safe?"

"I suspect it's changed now." I say.

"No. They can never change the activation code." Says another one of the Tall Mans colleagues, who has just entered.

"It was… Jessie. It was Jessie."

My heart suddenly leaps with sadness. What about Jessie? My baby, my gorgeous, little cat. The man opens the safe. It is filled with all the new persons junk; wallets, handbags, coins, photo albums.

"It doesn't matter what's in there; it's under the safe." I snap impatiently. The Tall Man steps forward and pushes the safe aside, revealing the familiar yet still slightly scary big rip in the carpet. He opens the trapdoor underneath, and climbs down into the underground passage. He sees all the money, and cries out loud. Most of his colleagues are in Aunts room now, that's more than sixteen of them, and they all rush to his aid. All the men rush down into the chamber, and I find the perfect chance to write in my diary.

The Tall Man's discarded coat is lying on the bed, and I grab my diary out of the pocket.

_**Dear diary,**_

_**When was the last time I wrote?**_

_**I cannot honestly remember.**_

_**Things are scary.**_

_**Real scary at the moment.**_

_**I've been kidnapped now.**_

_**My Mum was a bank robber.**_

_**She didn't share the money they stole.**_

_**The Robinson's killed every member of my family.**_

_**I miss Jessie.**_

_**I miss Mum.**_

_**I miss Aunt Sarah.**_

_**I miss Uncle Steve.**_

_**I miss Brucey.**_

_**And . . . despite everything, I miss Nina.**_

_**Somehow, I forgive her.**_

_**She's my best friend.**_

_**No matter what.**_

_**I'm not quite sure when I'll be writing back, but don't worry; I'll be fine.**_

_**Trust me.**_

_**XxxMegsxxx**_

"Come on, lets go. We're leaving!"

It's the Tall Man. I give him back the diary, and wearily allow myself to be pushed and shoved back into the car.

Chapter 17- Brave Bruce

Bruce awoke on a black sofa, in a strange room.

"Welcome back." Said a woman's voice. Bruce groaned and held his head. He sat up, but too quickly.

Spots crossed his eyes and suddenly his breakfast came rushing back up his throat. The woman grabbed an empty vase off a table and thrust it into the stream of ongoing puke. After a few minutes of desperate retching, Bruce found his stomach again.

"Sorry…" he said.

The woman was round-faced, and short, with black hair that perched in a bun on the top of her head.

"It's fine, dear. Let me get your some water." The woman said. She walked into the kitchen that was adjoined to the room. Bruce heard the sound of clanking glass and running water, and then the woman came back in with his drink.

"Here you are, son." She said, smiling. "You took quite a nasty beating there. You poor boy. How did you get mixed up in all this?"

"I…I don't know. I made friends with Meggie. I guess." Bruce said faintly. "Where….where am I?"

"Well…." The woman said sadly, "You're not exactly safe yet. I always drag what's left of my husbands business into the living room and stitch them up. And don't worry. You'll be fine. You'll have a dirty great bruise, but it doesn't seem like your ribs are broken or cracked. I was scared after that kick to the head though. I can handle it when my husband brings home grown men and leaves them for dead in the basement… But I just can't stomach it when it's children. I wanted to slap him when he came home with that teenage girl. And then you! I really hope she's okay…."

"Can I go home?" Bruce asked.

"Well…. You are only tiny. How old are you?"

"I'm eight. My name's Bruce."

"You're the same age as my youngest daughter, Lola. But you really don't seem eight. So mature!"

"Thanks. Can I please leave? I want to find my sister!" Bruce said sadly.

"After you puked into my good vase?!" the woman said, half-joking, "I think my husbands done with you. But you can't say anything to the police. If you do, his cronies will find you. And kill you. I'm sorry Bruce."

"But what if he goes to jail? What if all his friends go to jail?" Bruce asked desperately.

"Half of his friends are squeaky clean. Nothing will be pinned on most of them if my husband is caught. Do NOT tell the police. If you do, my husband and his friends will get you. Even if you run, they will find you. If you hide, they will sniff you out. They won't take mercy 'cos you're a kid. They won't forget either. If they can't find you, they'll kill your family. They'll kill your friends. They'll kill your pets. They'll kill your teachers and your classmates. They'll kill your neighbors. They'll kill anyone who even vaguely knew you. And If you don't give yourself up, they'll carry on. They'll kill your postman, your milk deliverer and that random guy who lives down the street from you. Even the woman who worked in a shop you bought toothpaste from, two years ago. They'll kill anyone you've ever talked to, and soon you'll be either be taken over by guilt and go crazy, or commit suicide. Or you'll give yourself up. Only then will they stop. Whether it's after 3 deaths, or 300 is up to you. Trust me. _Don't tell the police._"

Chapter 18- Run, Meggie, Run

"Where are we going now?" I ask.

The Tall Man in the front seat glowers at me, his twisted face gnarling at the thought of having to answer another of my questions.

"Shut up, Girl. It's none of your business!" he shouts.

"Hey!" I shout back, "Why can't you let me go! You've got your money! Leave me alone!"

"No. I don't trust you. I want you disposed of properly." The Tall Man said, an evil grin masking his face. I look at his face and do a double-take. If you sliced out the slight evilness of the grin, his face would be unrecognizable.

He just looked like a man.

An ordinary man who wanted nothing more than to go home and fall asleep in front of the T.V.

He looked like the sort of man who had wicked barbeques with neighbors on weekends and did D.I.Y around the house in the holidays.

He looked like a man who'd call his two daughters his 'Pretty Princesses' and make big fusses of them when he tucked them into bed.

He looked the kind of guy who'd always be ready with a good joke and a present to give you.

"How did you get messed up in all this?" I whisper sadly.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." The Tall Man says coldly. He turns around and scowls at me, and the moment is gone. Now he's just a man who's kidnapping me, a man who hurt Bruce and killed my parents.

"WHY?" I scream suddenly. "Why did you kill my family? You could've had a life! Now you'll just have the murders of dozens on your head, and the police after you! And…. And…._I COULD'VE HAD A LIFE! _I COULD'VE GROWN UP NORMAL! I could've had Christmases surrounded by cousins, and Grandparents! _I could've had friends who I went to the mall with every weekend!_ I COULD'VE GONE TO SCHOOL! I could've gone on holiday! _I could've seen 'Disneyland'!_ I could've been to England and Scotland and Australia and Hawaii! WHY? I HATE YOU! YOU ARE A CRUEL AND HEARTLESS MAN WHO DESERVES TO DIE ONE THOUSAND EXCRUTIATING DEATHS!"

I sob in my seat, rocking back in forth.

"I'll kill you!" I sob wretchedly. "I'll strangle you in your sleep… I'll kill you! You've wrecked my life…."

I pant and howl and bawl and wail. The Tall Man stares straight ahead, barely blinking.

I might be in a state.

I might not be thinking clearly.

I might even be crazy.

But I still know this: I've got to get out of here. I got to run. And fast.

_Run, child, run!_

Chapter 19- Nina

"Goodbye Bruce." Rosa said, as she waved Bruce goodbye, "Thankyou so much for telling us your story. That was the most interesting tale I've heard in many a moon. I really hope everything turns out okay for you. I'm sure your sister Nina will come through, and you'll find a nice family who'll look after you both. I'm sure Meggie will be fine. Good luck Bruce!"

"Thankyou for looking after me Rosa." Bruce said, polite as always even though the woman standing on the doorstep was the wife of a man who was probably going to kill his friend.

"See ya Brucey!" Little Lola said, coming to the doorstep and crying slightly.

"Bye!" Said her slightly older sister, Tracy. She was waving frantically and rambling loudly, "We'll miss you Bruce! Good luck! I hope you don't have to go back to that orphanage! Bye! Have fun! Stay safe! See you Brucey Boy!"

Bruce was about to cross the road when something nearly bowled him over. It was Lola, pulling him into a tight hug. She was bawling her eyes out.

"Bruce, are you gonna die?" She sniffed.

"No!" Bruce said, scared. "Who told you that?"

"No one. But Mum said I'll never see you again…" Lola said.

"Well I probably won't. But who knows, eh?" Bruce said bravely. But his bravery was only welcomed by a torrent of tears.

"I hope you find your sister okay." Lola sniffed, releasing Bruce from her Viper tight grip.

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine." Bruce lied, "I'm absolutely sure. I hope everything turns out fine for you too. Give that mean girl at school a big kick from me."

Lola laughed, though it sounded rather pathetic coming from a throat clogged up with salty tears.

"Bye Bruce." She said quietly.

"See you Lola." Bruce said. And then he briskly crossed the road. Bruce turned the corner and the family was out of sight.

"Well, that's got rid of them. Finally!" Bruce muttered to himself, acting as if he couldn't care less. But the tears still glistening ripe on his cheeks said otherwise.

Bruce walked for a long time. He didn't know where he was, or where he was going. He just knew he had to find Nina. Once he found Nina, then they could both save Meggie. He had been plucked from the Hotel shortly after Meggie, and had no idea what fate was laid out for Nina. All he could do was hope that she had hidden and escaped the horrible men. Maybe she was still at the hotel. All Bruce could do was speculate. But it was morning when the men came, and now it was deep in the night. Bruce walked for hours in no particular direction, criss-crossing through heavy traffic. But he was tired and his feet dragged. Soon, Bruce found himself walking through a park. He sat down at the base of a tree for a minute. But darkness lured him in, and he found himself drifting into dreams.

Bruce awoke with a start, cursing himself.

"No!" he shouted in anger. He knew it might be too late to save Meggie. And if Nina was hiding in their hotel room, she surely would've seeked better refuge by now. He glared around at his surroundings. A man in a stiff suit was sitting on a bench nearby eating a sandwich, and a young couple fed each other strawberries on a picnic blanket a few feet away.

It was only lunchtime. Bruce breathed out heavily. If he had slept any longer, it could have been too late. But maybe, just maybe… there was still hope.

Bruce exited the park, and looked around the bleak roads around him. The sun was shining in the park, but in the traffic infested streets the sky scrapers blocked out all hope of sunshine. Bruce looked around.

"Wait a minute!" he yelped. He knew that apartment block. He knew that shop… He ran down the road, at full pelt. He whizzed past an old man, who yelled at him and waved his walking stick in the air. The oldie was threatening all kinds of stuff, from _a good old-fashioned beating_ to a _serious talk with your parents, young mister!_ But for once Bruce didn't give a monkeys about being rude. Still sprinting with all his might, Bruce saw the building he'd been so desperate to escape all these years.

Now, it was his savior. The boarded up window and broken door welcomed him as an old friend, as Bruce pulled his feet through the tangled weeds that strangled his trainers. For the first time in his life, Bruce felt _home._ He rushed through the door, (the same door he'd cursed through winter for letting the snow and the rats in) and greeted the musty insides of the orphanage. A few other kids greeted Bruce, but most were at school. The people who worked at the orphanage weren't paid enough to care, so half the kids didn't even bother showing up at school. Bruce hugged some of his friends, and cried a bit. But then he heard a scream.

"BRUCEY!"

And then something grabbed him and hugged him so hard he couldn't breathe.

"Nina?" Bruce choked. Nina let go of her brother, and held him at arms length.

"Oh Bruce! How did you find me? How did you know I was here?" Nina cried.

"I didn't." Bruce grinned, "But you know me. I'm as lucky as the guys on Lotto."

Nina sobbed a laugh.

"Bruce, I'm so, so sorry!" she cried, "I'm an idiot! I could've killed myself for what I did to you and Meggie. I knew they'd take Meggie away, but when the took you away…." She paused and sobbed, "I'd never, _ever_ forgive myself if anything happened to you, Bruce."

"I don't know why I believe you." Bruce said, struggling to keep solemn, "After you betrayed Meggie like that. You're a horrible person. I hope you know that. But right now I need to forgive you. I mean, how can I plan a rescue mission if I'm doing it with someone I hate?"

Nina gasped. "A rescue mission? You know where Meggie is? We're really gonna save her?"

"Yes." Bruce said determinedly.

"But how?" Nina asked.

"Oh, don't you worry. I have a plan." Bruce smiled.

"This is it, isn't it?" Nina grimaced. "We're really going to save her, aren't we?"

"Yes." Bruce said heroically. "No going back?"

Nina gulped, knowing that this deal could be her last.

"No going back." Nina confirmed, finally smiling at her brother.

Chapter 20- The Rescue

I've read about people jumping out of cars in my books. One was a tragic story about a little girl who opened the car door and stepped out while her and her family were going for a family drive. The fall from the moving vehicle did not quite kill her, yet she fell into ongoing traffic. This was one thing I have to be careful of.

Ongoing traffic.

I know to escape the car safely, I have to brace myself and make sure I don't fall out of the car and into traffic. I have to be quick, or the Tall Man will stop the car. And I have to do it in a place where the Tall Man can't weave out of the traffic, pull over and run after me.

Oh.

And I have to do it in the next 2 and ½ minutes.

While still contemplating the best ways to jump out of a moving car, we stop at a traffic light. I gasp, then grin. This is perfect! I don't have to jump out of this moving car, I can wait for it to stop and get out. Oh wait…No, 'cos if I jump out now, there's nothing to stop the Tall Man jumping out after me. I'll wait until the light turns green, and jump out just as the car is moving. Then he can't stop because all the people behind him will crunch into him. I look around, seeing where I am. It's a damp street, with lot's of buildings cramped into a tiny stretch of road. There are a lot of cars, and, even better, there's a _lot_ of people. I can't believe it. I couldn't have picked a place more perfect. There are several alleyways, and the array of people will make it easy for me to disappear and hard for the Tall Man to find me. I sit in silence, preparing myself. My heart is going crazy, and every time a car horn bleeps, I leap into the air. I eye the lights, not even blinking in case I miss that one millisecond of getaway time.

I remember when we made microwave popcorn back at the Hotel. It seems like weeks ago, but it must have only been the other day. It was only 2 minutes for the popcorn to be ready. But the wait for that tiniest amount of time was the longest I've ever had to wait. My mouth watered with the prospect of the buttery popcorn crackling in my mouth, and the taste of a piece of hard corn that hadn't been popped, cracking my teeth as it somehow made its way into my mouth. I'd watch the clock on the microwave, counting down the seconds. But each second felt like a lifetime, and it was almost physically painful. And then the smell would start. Oh, that smell. Wafting through the air. The buttery, cooking popcorn smell that would choke your throat and pierce your nose. And then the noise would come. The popping. Thousands of crackles and bangs making up the Popcorn Symphony. The sound made you jump up and down, with the thought secure in your head, the thought that the popcorn was _nearly_ ready. But _nearly_ was the worst word ever. The popcorn was _nearly_ ready. You were _nearly_ wetting yourself with excitement. You were _nearly_ about to starve to death. And then the tiny moment of victory when the timer goes ding, ding, ding! The insides of your head are marching parades, and confetti is flying across your line of vision, and bands are screaming out their marching tune, each one trying to be louder than the next. And then you open the bag, and… Well… it's over. You've got the popcorn. It's there. But now that you've finally gotten hold of it, you're to busy cramming it down your neck to taste the hot butter burning your throat and the fluffy popcorn tickling your taste buds. And by the time you're ready to savor it, it's gone.

That's how I feel now.

I sit, each second an eternity.

Waiting.

Just waiting.

The suspense makes me want to throttle someone.

I always get this way when I read books. Like a horror book I read where everyone is being killed off, and you don't know how. And the book keeps you waiting…. And waiting… and then BOOM!

I want to scream every time.

I feel a bead of sweat slither down my forehead and onto the tip of my nose. I want to rub it away, but I don't dare move. If the Tall Man suspects something's up, he'll lock the doors in an instant. The bead of sweat glistens annoyingly, and I can't help but draw my eyes towards it for a second. It's just like one of those fish, that dangle a big light to lure smaller fish. Well, I'm lured. The second of distraction is all I need to fail, I remind myself. I look back at the lights, and….

GREEN!

I've never been so fast in my life.

The second the car starts lurching forward, I push open the door and jump out into the sunlight. I run, as fast as I can. I twist my ankle on the jump out, but I couldn't care less. I'm alive! I run, ignoring people's questioning looks. I push one woman out of the way.

"I'm sorry!" I scream back at her, though at the speed I'm running, I'm far ahead of her. I don't even think she hears my screamed apology. I run down an alleyway that hosts a collection of grubby cats. I see one dog, and it growls at me. But it has only 3 legs, so I don't worry. I head out of the alleyway and back into sunlight. I'm so out of breath but I keep pushing forward. I'm suddenly aware of a pain in my chest, and the pain from my ankle. I slow down to a jog. I twist around. No one is following me. Thank goodness. I look down the long alleyway I just came down. Nope. Not a soul. I look up and down the street that I'm on. It's unrecognizable. I see an apartment block, and a shop. I set my pace down the road at a brisk walk. I keep an eye in every direction, scared out of my wits. There's a filthy orphanage at the end of the road. It's a variety of colours, and patterns, a months worth of taggers…

Oh my goodness!

It's Nina's orphanage!

I frown. She won't be there. She's probably living large with the 3 million dollars she got from revealing me. But then I see two figures coming out of the Orphanage. There's a girl, probably about my height. And a boy, who looks about eight years old. I'm stunned, and all I do is gape for a second. The boy sticks his skinny arm in the air. For a second I wave back. But no, he's hailing a cab.

Rats.

No, this is much more serious than rats. They're hopping in the taxi.

Oh no!

If I don't get their attention in a few seconds I'll never find them again. I run down the road at full pelt. Faster than ever before.

"BRUCE! NINA!" I scream. I shout, I yell, I screech, I cry, I bellow, I squeal and I scream harder than ever before. Imagine every noise you've ever heard, from the tiniest sound like an ant tiptoeing across a leaf, to the loudest imaginable sound like thousands of rockets launching into outer space in unity or 20 billion symbols clashing together in harmony, then put all those sounds together.

That is how loud I screamed.

Obviously, they heard.

Nina and Bruce whizzed around and saw me rolling at them like an oversized bowling ball.

"MEGGIE!" They scream in harmony. But theirs are not screams of happiness. Oh, how I would love to say that I hugged Nina and Bruce and we all won the lotto and were incredibly rich and moved to a happy place where everyone accepted us. But, alas, my life is not a book. It is not a fairy tale.

This is _real_ life.

Nina and Bruce were making gestures for me to turn around. But I didn't have to.

I felt the cold breath of the Tall Man on the back of my neck.

I could practically see his twisted face, scowling his heart out.

Life isn't fair.

But you still have to turn around and face it.

Chapter 21- The Money-Making Machine Scheme

"Nina? Ouch! That's my foot!"

"Guys? Are you guys okay?"

"Who's foot did I step on? I'm sorry!"

"Oops! I think I just elbowed-"

"Yes, that was my stomach! It hurt!"

"Hey! You're stepping on me! Hey! Ow!"

"Who's that? Who am I elbowing?"

"It's me, Bruce! Is that you, Meggie?"

"No, I'm Nina! Meggie? Are you on my right?"

"Ouch! No that's me, Bruce!"

"I'm on your left, Nina. Now shush!"

"Who died and made you queen?"

"Just trust me! Shhhh! Listen!"

I scowl through the darkness. Someone shuffles near me and steps on my foot.

"Gee, sorry! Is that you Meggie?"

It's Bruce.

"Just shush! Listen!" I whisper.

We are in a cupboard. We're all trussed up together, and the heavy metal doors are locked on the outside. It sounds like there's a meeting going on outside, but Nina and Bruce won't be quiet. I think we're in a warehouse of some sort, but then again, I'm the one who only left her basement a week ago. But Nina agrees. She thinks it's a warehouse too. She reckons this is no good. Outside, I hear them talking.

She's right.

It doesn't sound good.

"Charles, you're an idiot!" shrieks someone, a woman.

Charles?

Hmmm….oh yes!

The Tall Man.

"Look, I had to get hold of her some way. Otherwise she'll burble everything to the police! You know how delicate we are! The Cops just need to find a few files, read a bit, do a fingerprint scan on the Aunt's house, and we're all going down! We decided to cover our tracks once we'd pulled it off. Oh wait! Who decided that again? Oh yes! It was _you_!" The Tall Man shouted back.

"I don't care you fool! But you snatched up three children in a densely populated area, in the middle of broad daylight!" The woman screeches. "You _know_ we could have had professionals in to dispose of them! You _knew_ that if she escaped you should've just let her run! We would've found her! Almost three people called the police to the scene, and now we've got to pay to have the car re-sprayed and get a new license plate! You're an idiot! I'm surprised the Cops didn't follow you here! I bet it's all over the news! This could ruin _everything!_ They just need to find us here and we're stuffed! There is enough evidence here to put us away for the rest of our miserable lives! You _know _that! How can you get so thick?!"

"Look, it doesn't matter now. The Cops_ haven't _followed us back here, so lets just get on with the operation." The Tall Man snarls.

I feel Nina shuffling beside me with disinterest. She obviously isn't following the conversation.

"Whatever." The woman says doggedly, "But I expect the children won't like being cramped in that cupboard for long. _You_ do something about them, Charles, and _I'll _start on the operation."

"Oh, so I've been demoted to babysitter now, have I?" The Tall Man asks bitterly.

"Look, I don't care if you rock them to sleep in silken cradles, or force poison down their throats. But your performance today was _much_ less than satisfying, so I want you out of my sight." The woman says, very obviously closing the matter.

Suddenly, we are blinded by light.

"Why hello in there."

The Tall Man opens the door and pushes us out. Bruce stumbles and we all fall over.

"Get up, vermin!" The Tall Man barks. "I've had it to here with you! This operation should've been simple, but you've made it every bit more difficult."

"It would help if you untied us!" I shout, my voice slightly muffled by the weight of Nina's sleeve covering most of my face.

"Sure." The Tall Man says sarcastically. "I untie you and you pull another one of those vanishing acts. Great. Let's untie you."

"We won't run away." Nina growls. "How can we? There's no where we can go! Even if we get out of this place, the guards at the fence will shoot us down before we get to the pavement!"

"True…" The Tall Man says, smiling slightly.

I wonder how any normal person can smile at the idea of three children getting shot to death while escaping from kidnappers who murdered their families.

Some people are seriously twisted.

"Can't you just let us go?" Bruce sobs, "I want to go home! I've had enough… I don't even know how we got involved! Please… let us go! We won't tell the police, I swear!"

It is very uncharacteristic for Bruce to cry in front of us. Sure he would, privately, but not in front of us. Suddenly, I cotton on.

"Yes!" I snivel, keeping my head down in case the Tall Man sees my dry cheeks. "Please sir, we haven't any clue where this strange warehouse is, or anything about this operation you're planning. We have no proof about anything you're planning! No one will realize we're the kids who were kidnapped today, we don't have family or friends, no one will be looking for us! Please!"

"YES!" Nina grovels, "Please! We're just kids! We gave you the money, what more can you possibly want? _Please_ let us go!"

The Tall Man starts to waver. I can practically see the cogs in his brain sorting out the pro's and con's of letting us go. Our hard work is interrupted by a voice.

"Is something burning?"

It's the woman.

From her barking tone and imposing voice, I had assumed she was some sort of massive muscle machine. I thought of her as kind of medium build, with short brown hair and legs bulked up with muscles. In my head, she wore sneakers, a pair of running shorts and a muscle-back t-shirt . She looked like the typical angry gym teacher from my books. If she had a big whistle and starting pelting dodgeballs at me from all directions, it would confirm it.

But really, she is a tiny and thin woman. She has long blonde hair that hangs over her face in an array of directions, and her expression is that of a spider. She doesn't look very old, quite young in fact, but is stooped over nevertheless. She has many frown lines, and tight, thin lips that are constantly pursed in disapproval. She runs her slender fingers through her hair, and her face morphs into a snarl.

"Oh! Whoops!" the woman growls, "Nothing's burning! It's just Charles."

She turns to the Tall Man, a sarcastic grin on her snarling face.

"Don't overwork yourself, Charles. Your brain needs some rest. I'm sure two seconds of thinking is a far too much for your it to handle."

"What do you want Chelsea?" the Tall Man sighs, ignoring her insult.

"You were supposed to do something with these kids, and pronto!" The angry woman….Chelsea hisses, "I told you, I didn't care what! But we need extra hands working the machine. The quicker we get the money, the quicker we can get out of here. I'm hoping we'll at least be out of the country before the police start following us."

"Well, what do I do with them?" the Tall Man says desperately, giving up all hope of making a decision.

"We'll give them the grand tour." Chelsea says, giving an evil grin. "Then we'll leave 'em here when we burn the evidence."

"You're going to burn us to death?" Nina gasps.

"Well," Chelsea grins, "blowing up, would technically be more accurate."

"Oh my gosh!" Bruce whispers.

"Please! Don't do this!" I cry.

I look at Nina and Bruce's desperate faces. Why did I drag them into this mess?

"It's not your fault, Meggie." Bruce says, seeing my agonized look.

"If it's anyone's fault," Nina sighs, "It's _mine_. I'm sorry Meggie. I only wanted life to be best for Bruce. I thought he deserved better than shoddy orphanages and mouldy bread. I truly am sorry. I'll never trust myself again."

Chelsea leans over us and clears her throat.

"Well that's _incredibly_ sweet," she says in a sickly, syrupy voice, "but, darlings, now is _not_ the time for sweet. In fact, there is _no_ time for sweet, _ever_. So cut it out! You make me want to puke."

We scowl up at her. She smirks back at us.

"So," she continues, "I suppose you want to know what's going on? Well, I don't mean to brag, but….oh wait. Scratch that last. I _do_ mean to brag. This plan is pure genius. _My_ pure genius."

"Don't flatter yourself." The Tall Man mutters, under his breath, "I doubt this plan will even work."

"Don't interrupt me Charles!" Chelsea shrieks, "Just be _quiet_ for the first time in your life! Now, what was I saying? Ahhh yes… _my _pure genius plan. Well, you see, America recently introduced a one million dollar note. Yes, that's right a _million dollar note!_ Most American's think this is silly, as what do you need a million dollar note for? You don't go out to the supermarket, buy a packet of smokes, _give_ the million dollar note to the attendant, and ask for change, do you? I mean, you just can't. But millionaires are show-offs, you see. They like to be able to flash around their millions, and it's better when it's in notes. Really, it's just a joke. They don't print many million dollar notes, 'cos not many people need them. But you see, that's why we need your money. No one here is so poor that they'd go around killing people for the millions that your family took from us. We need the millions so we can get million dollar notes."

"So you killed everyone in my family, just to get a few million dollar notes?" I say, barely able to contain my anger.

"Ha! A few million?" she smirks, "A _few_?! As we speak, I have five men out there, all taking one million dollars from your money and exchanging it for million dollar notes. We need quite a few of them, you see. They're all going to different banks, and they'll all come back with a million dollar note, each."

"Great." I say sarcastically, "You have five million dollars. That's your _genius_ scheme?"

"Let me finish!" Chelsea snaps, "In the next room, there is a machine. I have stolen a money making machine! All we need to do is place the first million dollar note in the machine, and it will make billions of copies of it. The place will be crawling with money! I keep my operations small, I only used 7 men. Five are out getting the money, then there's Charles and me. There! We only have to split the cash 7 ways. I'm a fair woman, you see. People who work for me will all be evenly paid. Well…more or less. We'll all be billionaires!"

"Yes, but won't people question how you got so much money?" Bruce asks skeptically, "People will start asking around."

"It doesn't matter." She says, "We'll be out of here before they realize we're gone. We've got a flight booked to China at 10:00 tonight. We'll exchange the million's, in small doses, of course, for whatever Chinese money is. We stay in China for three days, and then we all fly off in different directions. If the police have followed us to China, they'll lose us when we all go different directions. If one of us is caught, it's hard for them to link evidence back to the others. We can claim that we were just on the same flight to China, and that's all."

"But someone will realize this warehouse is burning, when you leave." Bruce says doggedly, "They'll put out the fire, and find the machine. They'll see the fingerprints and everything."

"Oh no they won't." she grins, "Have you ever seen a fireworks display, children?"

"Yes." Say Bruce and Nina cautiously.

"Well, my friend in China," Chelsea smirks, "will be helping us when we're up there. He has his hooks in the police, so the Chinese Cops are not a problem for us. We'll be giving him a fair amount of money for his helpfulness. In his kindness, he's sent down a big bunch of illegal fireworks_. And_ explosives. This place will be stuffed with explosives. So many that this thing will literally blow sky high. There won't be anything left, just a big black hole in the ground. Sure people will report it. But there won't even be a body to examine."

I shiver.

"And we'll be in the warehouse when it… goes boom?" I ask shakily.

"Of course, dear." Chelsea smiles, opening her mouth wide and showing off lots of pearly white teeth. "What good is fireworks, without children to enjoy them?"

Chapter 22- taking control

"We've gotta get out of here." Nina whispers to me.

It's mid afternoon, and we're still tied up. It's incredibly busy; everyone seems to be in twelve places at once. They started their money making 'operation' a few hours ago now. I'm a bit worried, Bruce has been silent for hours now.

"Bruce is very quiet." I say back to Nina, my voice barely a whisper. I resist the urge to joke, and say 'for once'. It was obvious Bruce could hear me, as we were all so close together, but he said nothing.

"I hope he's okay." Nina whispers back anxiously. Then she turns, or rather, twists awkwardly to face Bruce.

"Brucey, are you okay?" she asks, her voice raising one notch louder than a whisper and raising a few notches shriller than her usual tone.

"This is all your stupid fault, Nina." Bruce says, stiffly. "You got us into this stupid mess. Now we're all going to die."

"Bruce," Nina says desperately, "I've said sorry a million times! There's nothing more I can say! I _really _am sorry, really, really_, really_ sorry, but there's not much else I can say that I haven't said already. Please forgive me Bruce. Meggie already has, and she's the one I betrayed."

"Well," Bruce says gruffly, "Meggie's a pushover."

"Hey! That's not nice!" I say jokingly.

"Neither is betraying people who trust you." Bruce shoots back curtly, though the insult is for Nina.

"Come on Bruce!" Nina says, "Please forgive me!"

"Just forgive her already!" I agree, because I'm getting sick of Nina's desperate pleadings.

"No." Bruce says, "I'm dying with dignity!"

"Oh give over, Bruce!" I say, "We're not going to die!"

"They're just bluffing." Nina says with less confidence.

"Why would they want to kill _us?_!" I say.

"They'll just let us go. Nothing more." Nina agrees.

"Yes, they won't kill _children_." I say.

"No, not _children_." Nina agrees.

"Trust me Bruce." I say.

"Trust _us,_ Bruce." Nina says.

But Bruce isn't even listening. And the more and more I play the conversation over in my head, the more and more it seems like Nina and I were consoling each other, not Bruce. But it didn't work.

I'm not consoled.

"You know Rosa?" Bruce says suddenly.

"No." Nina and I say.

"The round faced lady…. Um… with the black hair in a bun." Bruce says.

"Oh yeah!" I say, but Nina still is puzzled.

"Rosa said something that reminded me of what you guys were talking about," Bruce says, "the bit where you said they wouldn't kill children. Well, Rosa said that they wouldn't take mercy just 'cos we're kids. She said that if we run, they will find us. If we hide, they will sniff us out. I don't think we will be getting out of here guys. I think this is the end."

"We _will _get out of here Bruce!" Nina growls, "Don't give up!"

I open my mouth to agree, but close it. I see sense in what he's said.

"You don't deserve to die, Bruce." I say, tears welling in my eyes, "I bet you would've cured cancer, influenza, normal colds and chicken pox. I bet you would've written books, and become one of the most famous scientists the world has ever seen."

"What?" Nina says, "No Meggie! No! We're _not_ going to die! We're_ not!_"

"And you, Nina." I say, now torrents of tears rushing down my cheeks, "I bet you were destined to become a fashion model, and a fashion designer. And you would've lived in a mansion with your rockstar husband-"

"And my best friend Meggie living next door!" Nina interrupts, catching my tears.

We sit for a few minutes, all blinded by tears. Then we hear the tap-tap-tapping of someone in heels approaching. Urghh. Chelsea.

"Why are you all crying, sweetie-pies?" she says, in her sarcastically sweet voice.

"Oh, I don't know." I say, sarcastically back at her, "Maybe it has something to do with…. You're going to kill us all in a few hours!"

"No!" Bruce says mockingly, "No, that wouldn't be why we're crying! No, that's _completely_ irrelevant."

"You just think you're so clever, don't you?!" Chelsea snarls.

We stare up at her defiantly.

"Look at me, and then look at you!" Chelsea laughs, "You're all tied up, and about to be blown up! And _me_, well, _I'm_ making billions of dollars each hour! Still think you're clever?"

We look down at the floor.

"Well I'm sorry kids," Chelsea says, sounding the least bit sorry, "But, we've finished here. We're packing everything up, and all the explosives are being placed. Have a nice fireworks display!"

Chelsea starts to chortle.

"Have a nice trip!" Bruce says politely. Nina groans.

This is certainly not the time for politeness.

But then, somehow, Bruce sticks out his skinny leg as Chelsea struts past. She falls over with a dull thud. In a flash, Bruce wiggles out of his ropes. He jumps up, and sits on top of Chelsea.

"ARGH!" She screams, "You stupid kids! You'll pay for-"

Bruce clamps his hand over her mouth and her screams are muted.

"Quick!" He whispers, "I've got her!"

The ropes are now rather lose, since they are only holding two people, not three. I wriggle out of them, and Nina follows. Nina takes over from Bruce, holding Chelsea down. I rush over and clamp a hand over her mouth so she can't call for help. I feel her sharp teeth scrape over my hands, but there is not enough skin for her to actually bite. Suddenly, I feel something wet running up my palm. I recoil in disgust and my face screws up involuntarily. I wipe my hand on my jeans, and then clamp it back over her mouth. But the few seconds of freedom was enough for Chelsea to stick up her head and scream for help.

"What was that, Chelsea?" calls the Tall Man from somewhere in the warehouse. "Are you okay? I'm coming! Where are you? What's wrong?"

We sit in silence, all scared. Finally, Nina cups her hands around her mouth, and shouts, in a shrill and shrieky voice,

"I just slipped! One of the stupid kids tripped me….um… and then they screamed for help. Er…. Get back to work! Did I _ask_ you to look after me? NO! Get back to work! NOW!"

It is quite obviously not Chelsea's voice, but the way Nina spoke and what she said were convincing.

"Okay, fine!" the Tall Man says, "I was just trying to help! No need to bite my head off!"

"JUST GO!" Nina shrieks again, restraining a giggle.

"Mmmph!" Chelsea wriggles madly, screaming into my hand, "Mmm! Mumph!"

"Stop wiggling!" Nina says desperately. But Chelsea just thrashes more.

"We need to get out of here, before someone realizes." I whisper to Nina and Bruce.

"Um." Bruce says blankly, "Oh! Nina ask that guy to get the people guarding the gates to come inside. Then we can escape."

Nina clears her throat and raises her head.

"Charles!" she says, her voice raising in nervousness. Soon it will be so high only bats will hear it. "Charles! Get everyone inside to pack up the money! Make sure no one is guarding the gate!"

"What?" Charles calls back, "But then…? Oh, I know you well enough not to argue. Where are you? I need to talk to you."

"NO!" Nina shouts, her voice shaking slightly and raising higher than most opera singers, "No! Just do it! What's so hard about that order?!"

"Fine." The Tall Man shouts back sulkily.

We hear a massive metal door sliding somewhere on the other side of the cavernous warehouse. Then we hear faint arguing. Then the sound of three pairs of boots thumping back inside.

"And leave the door open!" Nina shrieks quickly.

"Of course, your _majesty_." One of the guards yells back snidely. But luckily, we hear no closing door.

"Great!" Bruce whispers, "We can get out! But what about Chelsea?"

"I don't know…" I say, ashamed by my un-usefulness.

"We could tie her up?" Nina suggests half heartedly.

"I don't know any good knots." Bruce says.

"Me neither." I say, looking at Nina for help.

"Well…." Nina says, "I don't know, but when we came in, I could've sworn I saw a few big crates. I think they're used to package some of the money. I dunno, but they're easily big enough for us to fit in."

"It's not _us _who need to hide, Nina." I say, a teensy bit rude. I immediately regret it. It's not like _I_ have any idea's.

"Yes, but we could squash Chelsea in one of them." Bruce says, understanding what Nina is getting at.

"It would be awfully uncomfortable." Nina says, "But we could definitely fit her in there. She's not much taller than Meggie."

"Good idea, Nina." I say guiltily, trying to make up for before.

"Yes, but aren't the crates near where everyone else is?" Bruce says. "We'll never get past them to get the crates."

"Oh stop being so pessimistic." Nina says, "We can do this."

Chapter 23- the Crates

"Meggie, you don't have to do this. It's okay! We can think up another plan." Nina whispers desperately, though we both know this isn't true.

"I have to." I whisper back unwaveringly. "I got us into this mess. I'll get us out. Or… I'll get you guys out."

"If you're sure." Nina says uncertainly, "See ya soon, Meggie. Good luck."

"You too." I say, "See ya Bruce."

"Bye Meggie." Bruce says, "You'll be fine. I expect we'll be seeing you in ten minutes at our meeting place."

He says it with false hope, we all know I won't be seeing them again. And if I do, it will be at an open-casket funeral.

"Bye guys." I whisper again, procrastinating for another few seconds. Then I run out from our hiding place behind the crates, and into the throng of bad guys.

You must think I'm crazy.

Well, not quite.

It's all part of our plan.

We've knocked out Chelsea with an unidentified metal thing. Now we just need to hide her in a crate. We don't know how badly she's knocked out, or how long it will last. So we've stuck a sock in her mouth and in about 12 seconds Nina and Bruce will probably be busy wrenching a crate open, pulling out the money and putting her inside. And I'm the distraction. As long as they're shooting at me, they won't notice Nina and Bruce hiding Chelsea's body. Hopefully I'll escape their bullets long enough to let them escape too.

Don't worry, they're not mean enough to make me do this.

I volunteered.

"HEY!" Shouts the Tall Man, "What're you doing?"

All eyes are on me, as I start to run.

"She's escaping!" screams one of the guards. Suddenly there are six men charging at me. I cower, playing the scared little kid.

Then as they come closer I throw wild punches, most of them glancing off the men's tough muscles. My fist finally connects with one man's nose, and there is a disgusting crack. I pause for a second, appalled, but the break in punches is all the men need to get me. The Tall Man lifts me off the ground, while the others stand around snarling at me. The man with the busted nose actually hisses.

"Stupid kid!" he yells, "I only have one nose!"

I know that now that I'm caught, the men will go back to work, eager to stay on the good side of Chelsea. Then they'll find Nina and Bruce. I desperately think about what to do. I hear a thud. It is probably unintelligible to the men, but I know it's the dull sound of Chelsea being dropped into a crate. I make a split-second decision. I see a gun in the back of the Tall Man's jeans.

"What was-?" starts a guard.

But I open my lungs and scream with all my might.

"AAAHHHHH!" I scream, and thrash about in the Tall Man's arms. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

They clap their hands over their ears and the Tall Man drops me. I reach up and take the gun out of the Tall Man's pocket.

I jump up and point it at the men.

"NOBODY MOVE!" I scream, my voice wobbling slightly. I hope they don't guess that I don't know how to use a gun.

My knees knock together as five guns point back at me. But I see Nina and Bruce creeping towards the door. At least they'll be safe. Nina spots me glancing at her through the corner of my eye, and we exchange the briefest look before she darts through the door.

"Kid, put the gun down, you could hurt someone." Says a man, holding up his own gun even higher.

"Put the gun down and we won't shoot you." The Tall Man says calmly, "You're way out of your depth. You're just a little fish in a big pond. You didn't seriously think you could overpower six grown men, did you?"

The men chuckle, but the Busted Nose Guy huffs angrily.

"My nose will be crooked for the rest of my life!" he howls, "I say we shoot the brat already."

Most of the men nod, and one points a gun in my face.

"Sweet dreams, kid." He says.

"NO!" Roars the Tall Man.

"Charles, you spoil sport." Groans one guy. "You never let us do _anything_."

"Chelsea wouldn't like it." The Tall Man lies. I wonder for a second why he's standing up for me. It doesn't matter, he was all for blowing me up a few minutes ago.

"Where is Chelsea anyway?" says the Busted Nose Guy. I stiffen.

"I don't know-" starts the Tall Man, but I point the gun to the roof and squeeze the trigger. It makes a terrific noise as the bullet rips through the metal roof. The bang shudders through the warehouse, reverberating off the walls and making it that much louder.

The men jump, and yell swear words at me. But, despite what Bruce said, they seem reluctant to turn their guns on a child.

While the men are stunned for a second, I make a sprint for the door. I know I won't make it, but the prospect of sunlight and freedom wheedle their way into my mind. Six voices shout different things all at once.

"DON'T LET HER OUT!"

"Get her!"

"OI! What do you think you're doing?"

"SHOOT HER!"

"_Don't shoot!_"

"TAKE THIS, BRAT!"

I hear another deafening bang, and then feel a bullet carve into my skin. It's beyond any pain I can ever imagine, and I fall to the floor. I feel the warm blood trickle into my socks as I hit the floor with a pound. And then blackness takes over everything.

Chapter 24- Nina and the Police

"Don't stop running, Nina!" Bruce shouted to his puffing companion.

"We're not being chased!" Nina complained, "I want to go back! We shouldn't of left Meggie!"

"We can't!" Bruce said, his voice breaking with distress, "She'll be right out after us! Trust me! She'll be fine!"

They were at the end of the road when they heard the first gunshot. Nina screamed in anger and grief and sunk to her knees. Bruce gave Nina a worried look, before forming his face into a calm look which he gave to passers by.

"It wasn't Meggie…" Bruce said shakily, "It was one of the bad guys. Don't worry Nina. Meggie is fine. It wasn't her…." But he was comforting a rock. Meanwhile, a woman walking past with her poodle, pulled out her cellphone and dialed the emergency number.

"Police?" she said, before waiting a few seconds, "Yes, I just heard a gunshot. You've heard? Okay. Yes. I guess. Thankyou."

"What's happening?" Bruce said to her.

"I'm not sure." She replied nervously, in her heavy English accent, "I called the police, but they say they were called at least ten minutes ago when an elderly lady heard children screaming. They said they should be here in a few minutes and to stay as far away from the scene as possible. Are you two okay?"

Bruce thought about spinning a lie, but was exhausted and wasn't up to it.

"We were kidnapped by those men." He said, gesturing to himself and Nina, "We escaped. Our friend is still in there."

He tried to stay brave, but broke into tears at the last line. Then the second gunshot pierced the air.

"Oh my God!" the woman said, "Let's get out of here! You poor thing! We've got to get out of here, now! They might come after you! Come with me! I'll call an ambulance!"

She scooped Nina up, who was now a wreck, all dirty with tears streaked down her face.

"Stand up, honey." The woman said kindly. Nina looked at her in angered awe.

"How can you two be running to safety at a time like this!" Nina shouts, "Our friend might be dying, or dead! I need to help her!"

But before the other two even register what Nina said, she sprinted off in the direction of the warehouse.

"NINA!" Bruce screamed, "NINA, NO!"

He lunged after her, but the woman grabbed him.

"Don't!" she said in a shrill voice, "It's dangerous!"

"But what about Nina?" Bruce sobbed. "Let me go!"

"Don't worry, son." She said, "The police are here. Your sister won't get anywhere near that warehouse. She'll be fine."

Bruce gulped, but nodded. Suddenly the air was filled with noisy sirens and flashing blue and red lights.

Nina, who was still sprinting down the street, paused for a second. The officers launched themselves out of the cars; there was at least 30 of them. The nearest one grabbed Nina. She screamed and struggled while the officer attempted to explain that there was a dangerous situation in there, and to not go any further. But Nina was far past reasoning. She sank her teeth into the officers arm, who yelled out and jumped back. Nina seized her chance and ran towards the warehouse.

"STOP THAT KID!" the bitten officer screamed, clutching her arm and tottering after Nina. A few officers raced after Nina, but she dodged them and slid through the doors back into the warehouse.

The first thing Nina saw was blood.

Lots of it.

Nina staggered slightly, and looked around. The men were no where to be seen. Neither was Meggie. Nina looked at the blood. It made a trail to behind a tall wall of crates, which were piled on top of each other, half way to the ceiling. She followed it warily. Her steps echoed through the dark warehouse, and she shivered.

"MOVE, AND WE'LL SHOOT HER!" screamed an agitated voice. Suddenly Meggie was thrown out from behind the crates, followed closely by an arm which held a gun to her temple. Meggie looked a mess. One of her legs was drenched in thick, red blood. Nina guessed that hidden underneath there was a bullet hole. Meggie herself look petrified, her eyes huge and fearful, but unable to say anything due to the tape covering her mouth. The man who belonged to the arm- who was still hidden- said, "Move one more step, _cop_, and we'll blow this girls brains out!"

Nina squealed.

"I'm not a cop!" She squeaked, aghast, "Don't shoot Meggie! Please!"

A man stuck out his head, and dragged Meggie back in. He had thick brown hair, and a bleeding nose. Nina didn't recognize him. Meggie howled underneath her tape as the Busted Nose Guy pulled her in by her hair. The man stood up, and grabbed Nina by the arm.

"Great, another hostage!" he said, with horrid enthusiasm.

Nina yelled as he grabbed her ponytail and pulled her behind the crates.

It was a mess.

There was blood everywhere, and unorganized money sticking to it. Five men crouched, each looking anxious and scared. The sixth man joined them, smiling in a cruel way.

"What are you babies scowling at?" he barked. The men stared defiantly back, as though daring him to say it again. Nina recognized one man, Charles. Or, the Tall Man, as Meggie so humorously called him. He looked like he was on the stage of losing it. He was biting his nails, and rocking back and forth, and sweating like a pig.

"Another hostage?" he said hoarsely. "_Another?_ The police are outside! We're done for! So you go and drag _another_ hostage into this! We'd probably have been okay with the whole hostage situation if it had been a middle-aged man, who lived alone in his crummy flat and watched _Star Wars_. But two little girls? I have my own little girls! This is _wrong!_ I'll never see my little girls again!"

He was barely making any sense, changing from one train of thought to the other so swiftly, that no one else kept up.

"Get a hold of yourself, Charles!" the Busted Nose Guy growled, who had apparently taken charge in the absence of Chelsea.

"We're going to be caught!" he whispered, "I'm never going to see my wife again! Or my children!"

"You were prepared to do that before!" the Guy said angrily back, "You were going to run away to wherever, with your billions of dollars, and never come back. _CALM DOWN!_ It's in situations like these you see people in their true light. You're just a _coward_."

Charles, who seemed to just ignore his comments, said,

"Maybe we should just turn ourselves in?"

"NO!" Roared the Busted Nose Guy, turning his gun away from Nina and Meggie and towards Charles.

Charles quivered, but said, "I don't care! Kill me! Kill me now!"

He very obviously didn't mean it, by the way his voice wobbled and shook.

But the Busted Nose Guy pulled the trigger anyway. There was a collective gasp as Charles flew through the air with the force from the bullet, and landed with a bang on the floor some metres away.

He didn't move.

He didn't even twitch.

Nina put her hand over her mouth in awe.

Everyone was too shocked to say anything.

Even Meggie was still.

The silence was interrupted by loud sirens and a big megaphone.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEADS!"

Nina smiled slightly, or, as much as you can in a deathly hostage situation controlled by a madman.

The Busted Nose Guy said swear words under his breath, as he directed orders to the four other men.

"The second they come in, shoot them! The might get us, but try to take as many of them down as you can in the process!"

The other men scowled at him, and, with glances at each other, one of the men spoke up.

"We're turning ourselves in. Do what you please."

Then they stood up quickly and ran to the door. But the Busted Nose Guy poked his head out, and aimed his gun.

Two men fell to the ground.

"TRAITORS!" he screamed. Then he was silent. The police, who know knew there was only one man, and two hostages inside, charged in, guns a blazing.

"Surrender yourself!" said a strong, male voice.

"NEVER!" screamed the guy.

For a second, Nina thought that it was exactly like a game. A little kids game, with water guns and forts. Once you're wet enough, or your cardboard fort collapses you surrender, and then go have a nice cool lemonade with your mates.

But the Busted Nose Guy spoiled her fantasy.

He reached his hand out, and blindly shot at the cops. There were a few gasps, but no screams or thuds. Then suddenly it was chaos. The police opened fire, attempting to shoot through the crates that were stuffed air tight with money. The Busted Nose Guy kept blindly shooting, not even sticking his head out. The warehouse was full of screams, and blasts and urgent orders. Nina quaked in fear and squealed out a cry for help.

"Stop firing!" she screamed, "You'll get Meggie!"

One officer heard, and screamed at her fellow cops.

"STOP IT!" she yelled, "You might get the girls!"

The sound of guns died out, and the police began calling to the guy.

"If you surrender now, we won't kill you!" said an officer.

"NO!" screamed the Busted Nose Guy, sticking his hand out again and shooting. There was another thud and lots of urgent calls for back up.

But then one cop shot the Busted Nose Guy in the hand, the only part of him that was showing. He screamed and pulled it in, but let his gun slip out of his messy hand. Nina picked it up quickly. She aimed it at his head shakily.

But quick as a whip, he pulled another out of his jacket.

Nina knew she had just one chance.

It was a kill or be killed situation, but she knew she couldn't kill. So she aimed her gun lower, at his thigh. Without hesitation, she shot. He screamed and flew backwards, crashing into the wall. His head slumped onto his chest, and he was unconscious.

"I got him!" Nina yelled to this police, "It's all clear!"

Then she leaned over Meggie, and delicately peeled off the tape. Meggie gasped in breath, and grinned at Nina, tears in her eyes.

"Nina!" She said, too pleased to scold, "Why did you come back? You could've been fine!"

"I am fine!" Nina smiled, embracing her friend, "Oh, Meggie! Your leg!"

Meggie winced as she looked at it.

"It looks worse than it feels." Meggie said bravely. But a few tears escaped.

"Traitor tears." Meggie muttered, and then laughed, "Okay, it hurts heaps, and I knocked my head pretty hard. I was unconscious for a while. But I think I'll be fine."

Before Nina could say anything, the police grabbed them.

"Are you two okay?" said a very worried policewoman, yanking Nina up. She turned to pull Meggie onto her feet, but recoiled.

"Okay, bring them in!" the policewoman said, directing two stretchers into the space behind the crates.

"I'm okay!" Nina said, "I don't need one!"

But the ambulance attendants forced her into one.

"Sweetie," explained a plump-faced nurse, "you might have a concussion or something. We can't let you go. You might be seriously hurt."

Nina rolled her eyes, but didn't press the matter. She heard a male nurse consoling Meggie, because though she didn't cry, she nervously asked if her leg would be okay. Then Nina and Meggie were lifted into separate ambulances, and rushed off to the hospital.

"Wait!" Nina shouted, sitting bolt upright, as the ambulance stopped outside the hospital, "Bruce! Where's my little brother?! Oh no! Wait! Take me back! Turn around!"

"Is he the little one?" the nurse asked, gently pushing Nina onto her back. "He came running down the road and towards the warehouse. Luckily the coppers stopped him going inside. I think he's riding to the hospital in one of the police cars."

"Is he okay?" Nina asked nervously.

"He looked fine." The nurse said, "Shaken up, obviously."

"I'm so glad that's all over." Nina sighed suddenly, realizing that finally, she was safe. "I thought I'd never make it out of there alive."

Chapter 25- Just another happy ending

I can't believe everything that's happened in these past few days. It's like a dream. Not a very good one, though.

But it was more interesting than it is now!

"This is dead boring." I say, sitting up in bed, and facing Nina and Bruce. I've been in the hospital for nearly three days now. So far I've sat through a police interrogation, a magazine interview and several hours staring at the ceiling. Nina and Bruce have barely left my side this whole time. The nurses brought in armchairs for them when they refused to leave.

"I'd say." Bruce moans, "There's _nothing_ to do here."

"Yeah." Nina agrees.

"You guys don't have to stay, you know?" I say, "You guys don't have to stay with me. I'm not _that_ sick!"

"We don't have anywhere to go, anyway." Bruce says, shrugging.

"I betcha the people at the orphanage miss you." I say, "Their probably searching high and low for you guys."

"Nah." Nina says, smiling, "Me and Bruce got lost coming home from school once. We caught the wrong bus. We slept on people's doorsteps for two nights 'till we finally found our way home. They didn't notice we were gone."

"That sucks." I say sympathetically.

"Not really." Bruce grins, "It means we won't miss any of 'em when we go to leave. Nothing is tying us down to that place. The second I'm old enough I'm outta there!"

"Can I join you guys at the orphanage?" I say, realizing I have no where to go now, anyway.

"Sure!" Nina says gleefully, "It'll be fun now I've got a friend."

"Oh." Bruce says, "You guys are going back? Fine, I guess you guys can go. I've got better things to do."

Nina and I exchange a look.

"What are you talking 'bout Bruce?" I say, "Has the stress finally got to you?"

Nina laughs and makes a crazy face, poking out her tongue and rolling her eyes.

"Well, " Bruce says cheekily, "I guess if you guys don't want to use this, I'll just throw it away."

Bruce stands up, and takes something out of his pocket and dangles it above the rubbish bin. I rub my eyes in amazement.

"Bruce you _genius_!" I shriek.

"I love you, I love you, _I love you_!" Nina squeals ecstatically.

"Well, just remember that next time you doubt me." Bruce grins, tucking the _million dollar note_ into his jeans.

"Of course!" Nina smiles, but then her face twists uncertainly, "But isn't that stealing? It's dirty money, isn't it? The Police probably need it. They'll realize it's missing."

"No they won't." Bruce says, "There were trillions of dollars in that warehouse, didn't you see? And I don't think Chelsea recorded how much there was. Even if she did, the police probably won't do anything about it. They'll probably assume they miscounted, or it blew away or something."

"True." I say, "I doubt they'd mind. I think we deserve it, don't you? Well, that's great, Bruce, but… well, I also took a million dollar note. Er… actually a handful!"

I reach into my pocket and throw out a fistful of notes.

"I thought we'd run out of money, so I took lots…" I say, smiling slightly, "I was going to surprise you once we were outta this place."

Nina looks guiltily at Bruce and me.

"Me too." She says.

She reaches into her pocket and grabs _fistfuls_ of money and throws them onto the bed. She pulls out more, and more, and more!

"Nina!" I laugh. I grab a handful and throw it into the air, showering us with money.

Bruce laughs, and we start a crazy money fight.

"Okay, okay!" Nina says, laughing, "I'd better pick these up. If anyone comes in we'll be dead meat."

"Good idea!" Bruce smiles, slumping back into his chair.

Nina picks up all the money, smiling uncontrollably, and smoothes them out. Then she puts them all in a pile on the bed.

"There's fourteen million dollars here!" Nina screams in excitement.

"We'll be set for life!" I squeal, catching onto her exhilaration.

Suddenly the door crashes open. A harassed looking doctor rushes in, frowning.

"What's going on in here?" he says, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" I gabble, stuffing the money under the sheets, "Uh, I'm all good! Bruce just…er…saw a spider and….er…it was scary…?!"

It was a pretty lame excuse and the doctor seemed to think so too.

"Well, whatever you're _really_ up too, please do it quietly." He smiles, "We _do_ have other patients here too. They probably want to get their sleep too."

But the nurse who followed him in has less patience.

"You kids better be quiet!" she snaps, "I don't want to be here any more than you do, and your squealing is doing my head in. Oh yes, and you've got to think about the other patients along the corridor. They're all very sick, and though you might be on the mend, many of them aren't. Be more considerate!"

The doctor gives us a weak smile, but the nurse slams the door. We are silent for a second.

"THAT WAS SO CLOSE!" We all yell in unison. Then we burst out laughing, so hard that our sides hurt.

"_What did I just tell you?_" growls the nurse, popping her head again.

"We are _so_ sorry." I lie, concealing a laugh, "How could we _possibly_ be so rude?"

"Well, er," says the nurse, unnerved by my politeness, "Just, er, don't do it again."

Then she closes the door.

"Pigface! Pigface!" I laugh after her.

"Haha!" Nina laughs, "Pigface!"

"She _does_ have a pigs face, doesn't she!" Bruce laughs, "She's such a pigface!"

"Hey, you guys want to do something _really_ fun?" I whisper, gesturing them in closer.

"Weeeee!" Bruce squeals, racing past me at top speed.

"I'm going to beat you!" Nina laughs, ramming into me.

"Ahhh!" I yelp, spinning out of control. I smash into the wall, but it's not painful.

"Nina!" I laugh after her, "That's not fair! Help me, I'm stuck!"

Then I hear someone speaking down the corridor.

"Where's all the wheelchairs gone?"

It's the mean nurse. I laugh.

"Oi, pigface!" I yell. She whips around.

"You kids!" she screams, "Get back here! These old folks need their wheelchairs!"

"Come and get them, pigface!" Nina says, spinning around and snorting with laughter.

"You…I…arghhh!" she splutters, out of words in her anger. She starts to chase after us, but Nina spins my wheelchair around, and we speed away.

"High speed chase!" I laugh, whooshing past Bruce, who had stopped. I feel a bit bad, and look back at the old people. But they're laughing and reminiscing on their childhood. When Pigface slips, from rushing round a corner, they positively howl.

I grin, looking across at Nina and Bruce, who are rushing along the wide corridors on either side of me. Nina grins back at me, her smile opening into a snicker when we force an angry, posh man to dive out of the way.

"You _kid_s!" he screams after us, holding onto his hairpiece.

"You _adults_!" Bruce laughs back at him.

"Bruce!" Nina chuckles, "What ever happened to your manners?"

"We deserve to be _kids_!" Bruce laughs back. "After all that's happened, you can't deny me this!"

Nina and I grin at each other and nod like nodding dogs.

I zip past all the doctors and nurses, even overtaking Bruce.

"Oh no you don't!" Bruce laughs, catching up and ramming me into the wall.

"Oh no _you_ don't!" Nina says to him, racing in front of him, and slowing down. Bruce curses and rams into the back of Nina's wheelchair, but she just laughs and speed away.

"Thanks!" I chuckle.

"Hehe!" Nina chortles, "Sucker!"

Then she rams me into the wall. It makes a big scratch on the paintwork, but I just smirk. It doesn't matter. If they make us pay to repair it, it'll be no problem. Nina overtakes me, laughing like a maniac. Bruce catches up with her, and they high-five.

"TRAITOR!" I scream after her, in mock anger. The words could've been true a few days ago, but things are different now. There are no doubts about loyalty now.

As a spin to a halt, I remember my diary. I immediately feel in my coat pocket, but as I already know, it is empty. I panic for a second, but then smile. It doesn't matter where it is. I don't need it anymore. Now I have two _real_ friends to share secrets with, to laugh with and talk to. And I know that although Bruce, Nina and I might not always know where we're going, or what we're doing, we will always have each other to give shoves in the right direction.

"Wait up, guys!" I shout after them, and rush down the corridor to catch them up.

"Haha!" Bruce laughs, "I win!"

"No you don't!" Nina bickers jokingly.

"I think I deserve the trophy!" I grin, catching up with them _finally_.

"Nah, you came last!" Bruce says.

"There's no trophy anyway!" Nina beams.

"Hey, look!" Bruce laughs, "You look exactly like Pigface!"

Nina snorts and oinks while Bruce grins gleefully.

"You nutcases!" I grin fondly, pulling them into a tight hug.

We stand in the middle of the corridor, embracing.

"Ahhh!" Bruce squeals suddenly, "Here comes Pigface!"

Then we all sprint off down the hall, arm in arm, and laughing.

Sure, it's just another happy ending.

But this one's different.

This one's _my_ happy ending.

The End


End file.
